Donors and Shake-ups
by MauraJaneRizzles
Summary: It's Christmas and Olivia Benson is feeling alone. She calls her friends Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles-Rizzoli who invite her to spend the holidays in Boston with them. While visiting, Olivia finds she has more in common with her friends than she originally thought.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N this is my first attempt at a crossover fic. Please be kind. I don't own Law & Order:SVU or Rizzoli & Isles. I'm just a forever fan of both shows. Thank you and enjoy.**_

Chapter 1

Christmas Eve/ December 24

3:35pm

"Well. That's it for me boys." said Olivia Benson as she piled the last of her paperwork into her completed bin. "See you next year." She smiled at the thought of an entire week off without fear of her pager or cell ringing to call her to a scene.

"You leavin' already, baby girl?" Fin asked as he sat back in his chair.

"Yep. I'm finished and I'm outta here." Olivia said, not even trying to hide her joy of going on vacation.

"Don't you want to stick around here for a while and help your fellow detectives out?" asked Munch with an attempt at a pathetic look on his face.

"Sorry, Munchie. I'm officially on vacation, so other than to call me and wish me a Merry Christmas tomorrow...I mean no offense by this...don't talk to me until 8am on January 3." Olivia said with a cheerful twinkle in her eye. "As soon as I tell the Cap and Elliot bye, I'm outta here."

Olivia turned and strode toward Captain Cragan's office, knocked then entered.

Fin and Munch just looked at each other. Olivia had never refused to help them with paperwork before.

"What do you think was up with that?" Munch said to Fin.

"I'm not sure. She must be really anxious to start vaca. She has had a rough couple of months with all those rape/murder cases." Fin said then after a moment added, "She must have some big plans. I've never seen her so anxious to get out of here. When was the last time she took any time off?"

Munch shook his head and gave a 'beats me' hand gesture then returned to his mound of paperwork.

"Olivia." Captain Cragan said with a smile as he gestured for her to sit down. "What's going on? Are you getting your paperwork finished up so you can take off?"

"Actually Cap, that's what I came to see you about. Would it be alright if I took off now? I'm finished with everything and am wanting to head home." Olivia said.

"Sure, sure. That would be fine. You have had a few rough cases lately and don't take offense to this Liv, but you've been looking a bit peaked lately. I think leaving now would be just what the doctor ordered. Go home and rest up then start your vacation."

"Thanks Cap." Olivia said and rose from the chair to give him a hug.

Seeing what she was going to do, Cragan got up too and they met somewhere in the middle of his desk for a quick hug.

"Merry Christmas, Don." Olivia said as she released him from her embrace.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Liv." Cragan said as he planted a fatherly kiss on her forehead. "Oh, I got you something. I almost forgot to give it to you." He walked back to his desk and pulled a wrapped box from his top drawer and handed it to her.

Olivia blushed and murmured "Thanks. I have something for you too." She reached into the sleeve of her oversized sweater and pulled a wrapped gift out and gave it to the man she had always considered to be her father in every way but by genetics.

"Thank you." Cragan said, surprised. "You didn't need to..."

"Neither did you." Olivia said, cutting him off. "Do you want me to open it now or wait until morning and call you?"

"I think tomorrow with a call from my favorite girl would be nice." Cragan said with a wink. He also considered her to be the daughter he never had and loved her dearly.

"Okay then, tomorrow it is." She said.

They gave each other one last hug and she went back to the bullpen to find Elliot, Fin, and Munch before officially leaving for the day.

"Liv. Olivia!" Elliot called as he made his way down the stairs from the cribs. "Fin and Munch said you were heading out."

"That's right, El. I just cleared it with Cragan and was coming to find you before I left." Olivia said as she crossed to her desk and opened the top drawer. She pulled out a wrapped present, held it out to him and said "Merry Christmas, El."

"Thanks Liv but you didn't have to."

"I know I didn't have to. I wanted to." She flashed him that signature Benson smile that made him go weak in the knees.

He took the gift then opened his top drawer, extracted a wrapped gift as well and handed it to her as he said "Merry Christmas to you too, Liv."

"Thank you but you didn't have to either. I know you have a lot of expense this time of year with the kids and all." Olivia said as she accepted the offered gift.

"I've got it covered. Ever since Kathy and I divorced, I've had money taken out of my check every pay and put into a Christmas fund so I have money to buy gifts. It's no bother." He flashed her that brilliant Stabler smile that made her insides turn to goo.

"Thanks, El, I really appreciate it. If you don't mind, I'll open it tomorrow morning when I open my other gifts." She said with a sad little smile.

Elliot knew Olivia had no family, other than her family at the precinct, and instantly felt a deep sorrow for his best friend and long-time partner. He returned the smile then reached out and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

Olivia let out a squeak of surprise at the intense gesture and returned the hug before whispering (because that's all the air she could expel) "El, you're crushing my ribs."

Elliot immediately blinked, blushed, and loosened his grip on his partner but didn't completely release her. "Sorry, Liv. I...um...I guess I just wanted to let you know how loved and appreciated you are around here."

Olivia, completely taken aback by that proclamation, felt her eyes instantly fill with tears and cursed herself for reacting this way. "Thanks." she said thickly before releasing her grip on the back of his shirt.

Elliot released her as well but kept a warm and friendly hand on her shoulder until he was sure she wasn't going to completely break down. He knew this time of the year was hard on her and he didn't want to add to her misery.

She composed herself and smiled up at him as she said, "Thanks again. I need to find Fin and Munch and give them their gifts before I take off. Merry Christmas, El. I'll call you tomorrow, if that's alright."

"That would be fine Liv and Merry Christmas to you also." He hesitated then added, "Would you like to attend midnight mass with me?"

Olivia thought for a moment before saying, "Thanks for the invite but I think I'm just going to spend a quiet evening at home."

He watched her walk off and wished he could do more to ease her pain.

Olivia found Fin and Munch, exchanged gifts, greetings, and hugs with them before heading to the morgue to find Melinda and do the same with her then to the D.A.'s office to find Casey. Finally, at 4:15, she headed out the door and made one last stop at the grocery store before heading home.

At 5:00pm she made it home, dropped her purse, coat, and shoes at the door and went to put the groceries away. She trudged back to her bedroom, stripped off her work clothes, and put on her biggest, baggiest, and most comfortable sweats before grabbing the portable phone and plopping down on her couch. She laid there for a few moments just enjoying the quiet before a small twinge of nausea hit her.

"Not now!" she moaned as she leapt from the couch an ran to the bathroom before emptying the contents of her stomach.

She sat on the edge of the tub for a but to make sure there wouldn't be a repeat performance before rinsing out her mouth and washing her face with cool water.

She returned to the couch and rubbed the small, newly forming bump below her navel and said "Merry Christmas, little one. Next year will be wonderful, having you with me." She smiled and rubbed it again before grabbing the phone.

Olivia dialed the phone and on the third ring, a familiar husky voice said "Hello."

"Jane. It's Olivia Benson. How are you."

"Liv! So great to hear from you. How are you doing?"

"I'm well. I just wanted to call and wish you and Maura a Merry Christmas and to thank you for the lovely gift."

Jane chuckled then said "Nothing says Merry Christmas like a fruit and chocolate basket."

Olivia laughed too and said "I guess great minds think alike. Did you get the one I sent you?"

"Yes. We did. Thank you. Maura is all about the fruit and I made sure the chocolate was put to good use."

There was a moment of silence before Olivia broke it.

"So...what plans do you and Maura have, this being your first Christmas as a married couple?"

"Oh, you know, the same old-same old. My family will be invading us for an after-church snack then will be invading us again tomorrow for an official Christmas dinner. What about you? Any plans?"

"I'm just going to spend a quiet evening at home then lounge around the apartment tomorrow and watch Christmas movies and eat all the popcorn I can choke down." Olivia tried to produce a convincing laugh but failed miserably.

Jane knew her friend well enough to know that Olivia had a rough time during the holidays and wished she could do something about it when a brilliant idea struck her. "Liv. I just had a brilliant idea."

"Liv? Is that Olivia on the phone, Jane?" Olivia heard Maura say.

"Yeah honey, it is."

"Why didn't you tell me before this?"

Olivia heard an extension being picked up then was greeted by a cheerful "Olivia! How are you? I was just saying to Jane how I've missed seeing you. I know we talk on the phone but we haven't seen you since our wedding and that was in February."

"Maur." Jane said. "Come up for air. I just had a brilliant idea and I was going to tell Liv before you jumped on the line."

"Jane." Maura retorted. "It is physically impossible for me to jump on the line. You know that."

A chuckling on the line indicated that Olivia was enjoying the couples bantering before she said, "What was your brilliant idea, Jane. I'm dying to hear."

"I was thinking that you could catch the train in Manhattan and come up here to Boston and spend Christmas with us. When do you have to be back at work?"

"That's a brilliant idea, Jane." said Maura. "Olivia, what do you think?" (Maura insisted on calling Olivia by her given name)

Olivia hesitated, made a small noise that indicated she was thinking, then said "That sounds like a wonderful idea but I don't want to crash your first Christmas."

"You won't be crashing anything." Jane said. "Maura and I have been together for years now. Besides, you are invited. My family just invades. When do you have to be back at the precinct?"

"Actually, I don't have to be back until January 3rd. I took the whole week off." Olivia said.

"Then that settles it. You can spend the week with us." said Maura.

Olivia and Jane could hear a clicking noise over the phone.

"Maura, what are you up to?" asked Jane.

"I am booking Olivia on the next train to Boston right now."

They heard a final keystroke and knew Maura had just completed the transaction.

"Sounds like it's all settled, Liv. When does she leave, Maur?"

"In one hour. 6:30pm to be exact, as long as the train is running on schedule." Maura said then added, "That will give you time to pack and arrive at the station, won't it, Olivia?"

Olivia had yet to speak. She desperately wanted to go to Jane and Maura's but she was worried because of her morning that lasted into all day sickness. She had yet to tell anyone about her pregnancy. Bewitching hour was upon her.

"Liv?"

"Olivia?"

She heard Jane and Maura say, concern in each of their voices.

"I'm here. Yes, that would be sufficient time for me to get ready. I really want to come."

"But...?" Jane said.

"But, I'm afraid the train ride would be a bit nauseating for me."

"Nauseating?" Maura questioned as she switched from friend to doctor mode

"Yes. Nauseating. You see, I'm pregnant and I'm still suffering from morning sickness that actually lasts the entire day. Whoever named it morning sickness never experienced it."

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Jane and Maura at the same time.

"Liv. Congratulations. That's fantastic news." said Jane.

"Thanks." said Olivia. "You two are the first ones I've told. It feels good to share the news with someone."

"Olivia, we have something to tell you as well." said Maura with a giggle in her voice. "We're pregnant as well!"

"Oh my god, guys! Congratulations. Which one of you is the lucky one?"

"Both of us!" exclaimed Maura. "Jane and I are both pregnant."

"Wow." was all Olivia could get out as she tried to wrap her head around the news.

"Now you really have to come here." said Jane.

"Alright but what if I get nauseated?" asked Olivia.

"Take a sleeve of saltines with you and a couple bottles of water. That should help. Do you have any ginger chews?" said Maura.

"Ginger chews?" asked Olivia. "What are they?"

"They are wonderful." said Maura. "They calm your stomach almost instantly. You really need to get some but I'm not sure you'll be able to get any on Christmas Eve." Maura hesitated then said, "The saltines should suffice. It's onl hour trip. We'll have some with us when we pick you up at the train station."

Jane and Maura heard what they thought was sobbing on the other end of the line.

"Liv? Are you alright?" Jane asked.

"Yes." Olivia said with an embarrassed laugh. "Darn hormones. They kick in at the worst time. I'm just so overwhelmed at your generosity and friendship. I _will_ be paying you back for the train ticket. I better be going so I can get packed and to Penn Station."

"Oh right." said Jane. "We'll see you in about 5 hours."

They said their good-byes and Olivia hustled around her apartment packing what she thought she would need for her week in Boston. Just for good measure, she grabbed two sleeves of crackers, four bottles of water and her only bottle of ginger-ale before heading out the door to her much needed vacation with friends she was longing to see.

"Ginger-ale, ginger chews...hopefully it will have the same effect and you won't mind the ride to Boston too much." Olivia said to her barely-there baby bump.

Her stomach flopped in response and she ran to the bathroom to vomit, yet again, before heading out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Many thanks to all my followers of this story. I do not own Law & Order:SVU or Rizzoli & Isles. That privilege belongs to Dick Wolf and Tess Gerritsen. I am just borrowing their incredible characters for a bit.**_

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Chapter 2

Olivia arrived at Penn Station at 6:10pm. That meant she had approximately 20 minutes to collect her ticket and get to the right terminal before boarding the train and heading for a long overdue vacation with her friends in Boston.

She started toward the ticket counter when the nerve-wracking cab ride caught up with her and she had to make a quick trip into the ladies room.

She looked at her pale reflection in the mirror with her sunken cheeks and bruised looking eyes and said out loud to no one in particular, "When is this going to end?"

She finished rinsing her mouth and splashing cold water on her face before exiting the ladies room and again attempting to retrieve her ticket while trying not to think of how long of a ride it was going to be to Boston. She just hoped that she wouldn't spent the entire 5 hour ride with her head in the toilet.

She approached the counter as she dug her driver's license from her purse and said "Merry Christmas. I'm Olivia Benson and I believe there is a ticket waiting for me from here to Boston."

The lady at the ticket counter screwed on her most convincing smile as she took Olivia's license and started clicking away on her computer keyboard. "Ah, yes, Olivia Benson. Here you are. It seems you have been recently upgraded from coach to a private car." The woman looked at Olivia with that same plastic smile in place.

"Excuse me?" Olivia said. "Did you say a private car? What does that even mean?"

"Well it seems your friend, a Dr, Maura Isles-Rizzoli, upgraded your ticket to one that gives you a car to yourself that contains a bed and a private bathroom. You must have some really good friends, Ms. Benson."

Olivia's eyes instantly flooded with tears. "Yes. Yes I do have good friends. Thank you...Ms. Parker for being so kind. Have a wonderful holiday."

Stunned by Olivia's reaction to the upgrade and by being addressed by her name, Ms. Parker's plastic smile turned into a genuine one as she wished Olivia a Merry Christmas and a pleasant trip to Boston.

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Olivia boarded the train and was escorted to her private car by a young man who's name tag read Justin R. Justin opened the door and carried her bag inside before giving her the grand tour of her private car. Before he left, he turned and asked, "Is there anything else you will be needing, Ms. Benson?"

Olivia shook her head no then stood and slipped Justin a $10.00 tip.

The stunned young man stammered his thanks and left her to get settled for her journey.

Olivia pulled out her cell phone and gave a quick call to the Isles-Rizzoli house to let them know she was on-board and that they would be departing in about 5 minutes. She couldn't thank Maura enough for the upgrade. Maura assured her that the ability to lay down would make the trip go much easier than if she had to sit up the whole time. They said their good-byes and Olivia assured them that she would call when she was getting close to Boston so they could meet her at the station.

As the whistle blew and the conductor announced that they would be departing in a few minutes, Olivia was glad she had opted to remain in her baggy sweats for the trip. She had packed an outfit to change into once she arrived at Jane and Maura's house. She didn't want to put it on too soon as her wardrobe was quickly dwindling, thanks to the new shape her body was now taking. She laid back on the bed and closed her eyes while her hand absently caressed her stomach and waited for the train to begin moving.

The first jerky movements of the train caused Olivia's stomach to flop to the point of her thinking it would turn inside out. She slid from the bed and made it to her private bathroom just in time to dry-heave into it. She decided to stay in there until the train was moving smoothly before venturing back to the bed and some crackers and a few sips of water or ginger ale, whichever caused the least discomfort when she raised the bottles to her lips.

Olivia made it back to the comfy bed without incident and ate a few crackers. When they stayed put for a while, she took a few sips of water which also remained where it should. Releasing a deep sigh, she relaxed back and covered herself with the blankets and immediately fell asleep. She awoke some time later, roused by the blowing of the train whistle and was pleasantly surprised to find that she was feeling relatively good. There was still a hint of nausea but nothing that made her think that she needed to make a dash to the bathroom.

Glancing at her watch, Olivia was shocked to learn that she had been sleeping for about 3 ½ hours. She felt some panic because she wasn't sure where they were and immediately flagged down Justin to ask how far from Boston they were.

"We're about 1 ½ hours out from Boston, ma'am." Justin said in his most professional voice. "Is there anything I can bring you?"

"No but thank you, Justin. I appreciate your kindness." Olivia said to the blushing young man.

She retreated to her car and used the bathroom for it's proper usage before returning to the bed and her awaiting crackers and water. She laid back again and dosed for another hour before checking her watch and deciding it was time to call Jane and Maura to let them know she was about a ½ hour away.

Maura answered on the second ring. "Hello. Olivia?"

"Hi Maura."

"Please don't tell me that you are already at the station."

"No. I was just calling to let you know that we should arrive in about 30 minutes."

"Thank goodness." Maura said in relief. "I was afraid you were already at the station and would have to wait for us to get there."

"Nope. I'm still en route. Thank you again for the upgrade. I managed to sleep for about 3 hours. I think that's the most sleep I've had in I couldn't tell you how long."

"I'm glad I thought of it. You would have been miserable in coach."

Olivia laughed. "Right you are, doctor."

"See you soon." Maura and Olivia said at the same time then they hung up.

The last 30 minutes seemed to take forever to Olivia. She could see the lights of Boston long before they pulled into the station. She collected her rolling suitcase and moved to depart the train when she felt a hand clamp onto her shoulder. She instantly and instinctively reached for the gun that wasn't there as she whirled around to face the person who had touched her.

"Oh, Justin." Olivia said slightly breathless and completely nauseated from spinning around. "You startled me."

"Sorry about that, Ms. Benson. I was just wondering if you would like some help with your suitcase."

Still trying to tamp down the bile that was quickly rising in her throat, Olivia said, "Thank you. That would is very nice of you."

Justin smiled at her then noticed the color her face had turned. "Ms. Benson? Are you alright?"

"Yes. No. I mean...I need a restroom right now." Olivia said as her stomach began convulsing.

Justin ushered her to the nearest restroom on the train just in time for her to vomit. Justin winced at what he had just witnessed but remained professional and handed her a towel when she was done.

Embarrassed that she had thrown up in front of the young man who had been so sweet and kind to her, Olivia thanked him again and apologized for what had happened then slipped him another $10.00 tip.

"Will you be alright, Ms. Benson? Is there someone meeting you at the station? I could arrange for a ride to take you to your destination." Justin said, concerned that this kind and generous woman was sick and alone on Christmas Eve.

"I'll be fine, Justin. Thank you for your concern but I have friends meeting me here and I'll be staying with them for the holidays." Olivia said and wished she could do more for this young man. Without thinking, she reached out and pulled him into a quick embrace then said, "Merry Christmas, Justin. Thank you again for your diligence."

"You're welcome." the stunned young man said as he helped Olivia from the train and onto the platform. "Merry Christmas to you too and I hope you feel better. Nothing's worse than being sick on Christmas."

"I'm sure I'll be fine. Your mother should be proud of the fine son she raised. Maybe I'll have the privilege of seeing you on my return trip." Olivia said as she waved bye to him and set off in search for Jane and Maura.

She no sooner started her search when she heard her name being called from somewhere on her left. She looked around and found Jane and Maura waving and smiling at her.

The three friends rushed toward each other and fell into a massive three-way hug with lots of kisses and I can't believe we're really together's taking place.

When they finally released each other, they looked one another up and down to gauge who's belly was the biggest. With winter coats, it was hard to tell.

"Olivia." Maura said. "You look like you could use a ginger chew right now."

"Yes, please." Olivia almost moaned.

"Were you sick the whole ride?" Jane asked in concern.

Olivia was busy chewing the life-saving nugget but managed to get out, "I was sick when the train first started moving but then I fell asleep and was feeling fairly alright until the porter grabbed my shoulder and I kicked into cop mode. I think the whirling around to see who grabbed me was what did it."

Jane chuckled and said "Once a cop, always a cop."

"Don't you know it." Olivia said then turned to Maura and said, "Wow. These are amazing. I'm starting to feel better already."

Maura patted Olivia's hand and said, "These are the only reason Jane and I have been able to survive our pregnancies so far. We keep a pack at either side of our bed for emergencies. Jane's morning sickness was much worse than mine. Actually, I rarely get sick anymore."

Olivia smirked then looked at Jane and said, "Should we arrest her now or later?"

Jane and Maura both laughed then Jane said, "I'm thinking later. She's a really good cook and knows which foods to avoid to minimize the sickness."

Olivia hugged Maura and said "I love you, even though you aren't suffering any longer."

"Well...thank you, I think." said Maura as she smiled and returned the hug. "I love you too."

"Alright." said Jane in her authoritative voice. "Enough of this PDA. Let's get home so we can get this out of control party started. You know...no one can party like three pregnant women, two of which have perpetual nausea."

The three friends laughed and headed out of the station, Olivia's suitcase in tow.

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Twenty minutes later they arrived at Jane and Maura's Beacon Hill home. Olivia had forgotten how beautiful the place was and it looked even more beautiful with it's stunning Christmas lights covered in about an inch of freshly fallen snow.

"Wow." Olivia breathed as she stepped from the car. "Your house looks incredible."

"Thank you." Maura said. "Usually we decorate it ourselves but this year (she rubbed her belly) we decided to hire it done. It was the one way I could be sure that Jane would stay off the ladder."

"Hey." Jane said as she came around the car, dragging the suitcase. "What were you just saying about me?"

"I was commenting on how beautiful your house looks and Maura was explaining to me how she kept you off the ladder." Olivia said as she noticed Jane rubbing her belly as well.

"You know my wife...she take my fun away when she thinks it will be hazardous to my health." Jane said, still rubbing her belly. "Thank you, by the way. Come on. Lets go in. It's cold out here."

As they entered the house, Olivia's eyes grew large and round. "Oh." she said in a whisper as the beautifully decorated foyer and living room came into view. "This is simply stunning." She realized her mouth was hanging open and quickly shut it.

Slightly embarrassed at their friend's reaction to their home, Maura said "Let me take your coat so you can come in and Jane will show you to your room."

"Yeah, Benson. Take off that coat. I wanna see how big you are." said Jane with a grin.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours, Rizzoli." Olivia teased back.

"On three." Jane said.

Olivia nodded and they began to count.

"One. Two. Three."

On three they both whipped off their coats. Olivia was surprised to see the prominent bump sticking out from Jane's normally flat belly. The form-fitting sweater also helped accentuate her new shape.

"Geez, Jane. _How_ far along are you?" Olivia asked with a grin.

"No fair, Benson. You have those baggy sweats on. How am I supposed to see anything?" Jane whined.

Olivia glanced down at her baggy sweats and had an immediate deer in the headlights look. "Oh, crap!" she said. "I completely forgot I was wearing these. I changed into them when I got home and figured they would be more comfortable to travel in, besides..." Olivia looked slightly embarrassed then continued, "I'm quickly running out of clothes that fit me."

"Still. No fair. Come on, Liv, lift that shirt and show me that belly." Jane said as she placed both hands on her own protruding stomach.

Just as Olivia went to raise her sweatshirt, Maura walked back into the living room and saw what was happening.

"Really Jane." Maura said as she placed her hands on her hips. "Making Olivia show you her belly already."

Olivia looked at Maura and noticed how she, too, had on a form fitting dress that accentuated her new form as well.

"Hey." Jane whined again. "We made a deal and how was I to know that she had sweats on."

Olivia started to laugh at the incredulous look on Maura's face. "Jane. If you show me to my room, I promise to show you my stomach when I change into proper attire for the gathering this evening."

"Alright. Come on but you better have some sort of a bump or it's aut in da snow wit ya." Jane said in her best gangster voice as she grabbed Olivia's suitcase and headed for the stairs.

Olivia giggled and followed her up the stairs.

Jane stopped at the second room on the right. "Here we go." she said as she opened the door and flipped on the light. "I'd say take a nap but..." she looked at her watch, "It's almost midnight and mass will be over soon and my family will be piling in at any time after that."

Olivia stepped into a bedroom that was almost as big as her whole apartment.

"Over here's your own bathroom, complete with jacuzzi tub." Jane said as she flipped on another light. "Looks like Maura's got you completely stocked with body scrubs, shampoos, and towels. Geez...I should rent her out to the Hilton."

Olivia still hadn't said anything.

"Liv? You alright?" Jane asked as she turned around to see Olivia wiping tears from her cheeks. "Hey. What's the matter?"

"N-nothing. Just hormones." she said as she drew in a shaky breath. "It's just this..." she motioned around the room, "and yours and Maura's incredible generosity have kind of gotten to me. I don't know what I ever did to deserve friends like you."

Jane walked over and pulled her long-time friend into a one-armed hug. "You became a cop and got paired with me on a multi-state case. That's what you did...now...show me that belly."

Olivia hugged her back and lifted her top and lowered her sweatpants so Jane could see the bump that had formed just below her navel. "Happy, Rizzoli?" she asked as she giggled and let her top drop back down.

"Yeah. That's a good start Benson but I want Maur to measure you to see if you're as big as I was at the same number of weeks."

Olivia laughed. "You're insufferable. Do you know that?"

"Yep!" Jane said with a smirk. "That's how we became friends."

"Right again, Rizzoli. Now vamoose and let me get changed before your family gets here."

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Olivia panicked then became nauseated as she looked through the clothes she had brought with her. Nothing she owned should be found in a home as elegant as this one. Rushing to the bathroom to vomit, she began to rethink coming here for the holidays.

Just as she finished heaving for the fourth or fifth time, she had lost count, she heard a knock on the door and Maura asking, "Olivia, are you alright? Are you throwing up again?"

Olivia croaked a "Come in Maura." as she walked on wobbly legs out of the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed.

Assessing Olivia with the eye of a trained professional, Maura said, "Wow. You really do have a bad case of morning sickness, don't you?"

Olivia nodded her head. "It just hits me out of the blue and it's like get to the bathroom or vomit all over everything. I never thought it would be this bad."

All of a sudden, Maura reached over, pulled up the sleeve of Olivia's sweatshirt and pinched her forearm.

"Ouch, Maura. What was that for?"

"Oh, sorry, I was just checking for tenting of the skin."

"Tenting of the skin? What's that?"

"If your skin remains in that tented position, it is an indication of dehydration. With as much vomiting as you have been doing, I wanted to be sure you weren't becoming dehydrated."

"And if I was dehydrated?"

"I would start an IV on you and give you some fluids."

"Why would I need fluids?"

"If you become dehydrated, it could be detrimental to the baby. You could go into pre-term labor or develop a fever. Several things, very unpleasant things, could result."

"Oh. Then thank you, Maura. Feel free to pinch my arm anytime you feel it's necessary."

"You're welcome, Olivia. You and Jane have been friends for a very long time and you and I have known each other for almost as long, so I'd hate to see anything bad happen to you or your baby. Here's another ginger chew. I'll leave the rest of the pack on the bedside table."

Olivia accepted the chew with gratitude, said thank you to Maura, then turned back to the cause of this latest bout of nausea.

"I'm just not sure what to wear." she said to Maura, hoping for some help.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" said Maura and she began going through Olivia's suitcase. She saw the wrapped gifts at the bottom and noticed they were from Olivia's co-workers but didn't let on that she'd seen anything at all. She felt instantly sorry for her friend. She really had no one. _Her baby will be the most loved child in the world_, Maura thought as she pulled a pair of black slacks and a cranberry button-up blouse from the suitcase. "Here we go. I have a white tank that will look great under this shirt. Let me get it for you."

"Thanks." murmured Olivia as she took off her sweatpants and pulled on the black slacks.

Within seconds, Maura returned with the tank and noticed Olivia was struggling with the zipper on her slacks. "Problem?" she asked with a lilt to her voice.

"You could say so." Olivia grunted as she tried again, in vain, to pull the zipper up. "Nothing fits anymore. I'll tell you, this kid is costing me a mint and it's barely there." Olivia pointed to her small bump.

"Let me get you a pair of my slacks. We're about the same height and I've outgrown them." Maura said as she pointed to her considerably larger bump. "Be right back."

Olivia sighed with gratitude as she pulled on the slacks and was able to pull up the zipper without participating in the clothing olympics first. She already had the tank and shirt on. All that was left was to put on her flats and head downstairs to meet the Rizzoli clan.

"Thanks Maura." she said as she hugged her friend. "You, quite possibly, saved my life tonight."

"The pleasure was all mine, Olivia." she said as she returned the hug. "We better go before Jane's family arrives and eats everything I have put aside for you and baby Benson here." She reached over and gently rubbed Olivia's belly.

"You are such a great friend, Maura. Thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I do not own these characters. I only borrow them from their creators. Should I continue this story? There have been several readers but no reviewers. Oh well, I'm going to continue on with or without anyone's approval. It's my story and I feel the urge to write it. Thank you.**_

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Chapter 3

Christmas Eve/Day

Maura and Olivia had just made it downstairs and into the family room when the whole Rizzoli clan came crashing through the front door. Olivia had met them at Jane and Maura's wedding but was having a hard time remembering which brother was which so she decided to hang back and wait for introductions.

"Merry Christmas my babies!" shouted Angela Rizzoli as she strode into the family room. She hesitated for a moment when she was Olivia standing there and yelled, "Olivia Benson! Is that really you?"

Breathing a sigh of relief that Jane's mother wasn't upset about another guest joining them for Christmas, Olivia walked over to Angela and gave her a hug then said, "Yes, Angela. It's really me."

"When on earth did you arrive? Janie and Maura didn't say anything about you coming for a visit."

"Well it was, literally, a last minute decision. They just picked me up at the train station about 40 minutes ago. They invited, so I came. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? Mind? Of course we don't mind. The more the merrier. I guess you know our big news by now." Angela said with her chest puffed out like a proud, soon-to-be new grandmother.

"Yes. I do. I think it's wonderful news. Jane and Maura are going to be fantastic mothers." Olivia said to the beaming matriarch.

"Hey Ma. Did Liv tell you her big news?" Jane called over the din.

"No. I don't believe she has." Angela called back.

"Well...ask her!" Jane demanded of her mother.

"I guess I need to ask you something, Olivia." Angela said with a smile. "What big news do you have to share with me?"

"Well..." Olivia said with a blush slowly creeping up her neck, "I'm pregnant too."

"Oh my god!" Angela exclaimed as she grabbed Olivia in a vise-like hug. "Honey. That is absolutely wonderful news. When are you due?"

Angela's rocking back and forth motion kicked up her nausea and she squeaked out "May 12th ." before excusing herself and racing into the powder room in time to vomit.

Maura saw Olivia race off and figured where she was headed and followed her.

"Maura." Angela said, confused. "Did I say or do something wrong? We were talking and the next thing I know, Olivia is racing away."

"You didn't do anything wrong, Angela. Olivia is suffering from hyper-emesis. She gets nauseated and vomits quite easily." Maura said as she continued walking in the direction of the powder room.

"Poor thing." Angela said. "She must be miserable."

Maura hummed in agreement and continued to aide Olivia.

Olivia was just coming out of the powder room when Maura arrived. "Olivia, honey, would you like to lay down for a bit? This must be so hard on you."

"I'm okay, Maura. Thanks for checking on me. Do you have any crackers? Maybe that would help."

"Of course we have crackers. Let me get them for you. Sit down. Would you like some water too?"

"Yes, please." Olivia said as she sunk into one of the kitchenette chairs. "I just feel bad that I ran out on Jane's mother like that. It was the rocking back and forth that she was doing when she hugged me that triggered this round. I need to apologize to her."

"No apologies are necessary. I explained to her that you were suffering from terrible morning sickness and that was good enough for her. Don't think on it anymore. Here's some crackers and water." Maura set them down and sat in the chair beside her. "You're really miserable, aren't you?"

Olivia nodded yes as she nibbled a cracker then took a small sip of water. "Yes. I am. When will this go away?"

Maura pursed her lips and let out a long breath. "I wish I could tell you for sure but morning sickness is different for every woman and different with each pregnancy. With your next pregnancy, you could experience no sickness at all. It's not understood why."

Olivia let out a weak laugh and said, "Next pregnancy...I highly doubt there will be a next pregnancy."

"Why do you say that?" asked Maura.

"There won't be a next because I don't think I'll survive this one." Olivia said dryly.

Maura laid her hand on Olivia's and said "Olivia, you must not think like that. You will make it through and when you hold that precious baby in your arms, all the sickness and vomiting will have been worth it."

Olivia went to reply when the silence was broken by Jane.

"So this is where the two of you disappeared to. Liv, are you okay? Ma said you got sick again."

"I'm fine, Jane. Thanks for asking. Now, let's get out there. I'm a guest and I don't want to be the cause of a failed dinner."

The three of them went back and joined the others who had just started gathering around the dinner table for their midnight feast.

"Tommy. Move your butt." Jane said to her youngest brother. "That's where Liv is sitting." She wanted to give Olivia a straight shot to the powder room should the need arise again.

Tommy quickly got up and held the chair out for Olivia then gently pushed her in after she sat down.

"Thank you, Tommy." she said with a smile.

"Welcome." Tommy muttered then moved a couple chairs down and sat.

Angela was at the opposite end of the table from Jane, Maura, and Olivia and it seemed like she sat in the seat of honor, Olivia mused. Her thoughts were correct when Angela stood up and called the family to order before saying a prayer and declaring it was time to eat.

Maura retrieved several bowls and pushed them toward Olivia stating that they would be the best dishes for her to try. Olivia graciously accepted them and took a small serving of each before handing them to Jane, who also looked like she was a bit nauseated as well.

"Jane. Are you feeling alright?" Olivia asked as she passed a second bowl to her friend.

"Not really. My stomach is doing flips too. I thought I might be over this but...excuse me..." Jane jumped up and dashed for the powder room.

Maura excused herself as well and went to check on her wife. A few minutes later they both returned, Jane looking a bit paler than she had but never the less, had a smile on her face.

"False alarm." she whispered to Olivia as she took a sip of ginger ale.

The rest of the midnight passed without incident. Both Olivia and Jane thought they would need to excuse themselves but, thanks to Maura's insightful thinking, ginger chews were available at their end of the table as well as cold ginger ale.

Angela recruited Frankie and Tommy to help her clean up and insisted that the three girls go into the living room and rest, after all it was now almost 2am. Olivia was glad she slept on the train, otherwise she would never have been able to stay up this late.

Around 2:30am, Angela announced the kitchen was spotless and that she and the boys were going home so the girls could head off for some much-needed sleep. They all bade each other goodnight and Olivia followed her friends up the stairs.

"Good night, Liv." Jane said as she gave her a one-armed hug. "I'm so glad you decided to come here for the holidays."

"Good night, Jane. Thank you for everything and for putting up with me and my temperamental kid."

Jane laughed and said "Mine is as temperamental as yours, or so it would seem."

Maura stopped and hugged Olivia as well. "Good night, Olivia and Merry Christmas. Feel free to sleep in as long as you would like tomorrow. Jane and I have no problems with you doing that. We probably won't be up before 10 or 11am ourselves."

"Good night, Maura. Merry Christmas. Thank you for everything. I wish I would have told you about my pregnancy before this. Maybe I could have avoided some of this."

They all waved a final goon night to each other and retreated to their respective rooms.

Olivia walked into her bathroom, promptly threw up, then brushed her teeth and fell into bed. She was exhausted and fell asleep almost instantly.

Across the hall, Jane and Maura had completed their nightly rituals with the addition of Jane throwing up as well, but they didn't fall asleep as quickly. They opted to talk for a while instead.

"Jane?"

"Hmmm."

"Did Olivia ever mention why she was spending Christmas alone instead of with the father of her child?"

"No, actually, she didn't and we really haven't had time to talk. I didn't think it was appropriate to bring up the subject as soon as she arrived."

"Yes. You are right about that. She just seems so alone. It breaks my heart."

"Yeah. It breaks mine too. You do know about her history, don't you?" Jane asked.

"No. I don't believe I do." Maura replied.

"Liv was the product of her mother's rape."

Maura gasped but didn't interrupt.

"Her mother blamed her for ruining her live and she treated Liv like crap. Most of the time she was so drunk that Liv had to basically raise herself. Liv never said anything but I think her mother physically as well as mentally abused her. It's a sore topic with her so I don't ask."

Maura stifled a sob as she said, "Poor Olivia. No wonder she doesn't like the holidays. I'll bet she never had a proper Christmas in her life. How could her mother blame her. She was just an innocent baby. Wasn't her mother an English professor?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Her mother could have had a wonderful life but she chose to live it in the bottom of a bottle. I hope that someday she learns to appreciate the wonderful daughter she has."

"Not possible, sweetheart. Liv's mother died a few years ago. She as drunk and fell down some stairs and broke her neck. I don't think Liv's ever cried about that."

Maura let out a shaky breath and said, "Jane. We have to make sure the is the best Christmas Olivia has ever had. You were able to get her some gifts, weren't you?"

"Yeah. I got it covered."

"I did see some presents to her from co-workers in the bottom of her suitcase. At least they look out for her."

"Yeah. Liv works with a great group of guys. Heck, her captain has practically adopted her."

"I'm thinking that we need to give her some of our clothes too. She mentioned that nothing of hers fits anymore and we have lots of stuff that doesn't fit us anymore. She wore my slacks tonight because she couldn't get the zipper up on her pair."

"Good idea, Maur. Now let's go to sleep so we can give our friend the best Christmas ever."

Jane and Maura rolled toward each other to kiss good night but ended up in fits of giggles as their bellies bumped into each other before they rolled far enough to kiss.

"Shhhh." Maura said as she adjusted herself to get closer to Jane. "We're going to wake Olivia."

They finally managed their kiss and fell asleep with their hands resting on each other's bump.

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Olivia awoke the next morning, not only to the familiar wave of nausea but also to slight confusion as to where she was. She waited for a few seconds, willing her stomach to settle, when she suddenly remembered that she was at Jane and Maura's for the holidays. She remembered last evening and, even though she had gotten sick, thought it was the best Christmas Eve she had ever spent. She was beginning to relax even more when her stomach flopped.

"Oh no!" she groaned as she flipped back the covers and made a mad dash for the bathroom. She heaved and heaved until she thought her stomach would be the next thing to land in the toilet. "God!" she said as she sat on the edge of the tub and rubbed her stomach, "When will this end?"

She made it to her suitcase and retrieved the gifts from her work family. She grabbed a ginger chew from the bedside table and took a small bite of it before sitting down on the bed to open them. Before she began, she leaned back and lovingly cupped her small mound. "Merry Christmas, little one." she said then began to open her gifts.

The first gift was from Munch. Even though he is Jewish, he always participates in the gift exchange and he always gives Olivia a very nice gift. She tore through the paper and gasped when she saw what he had gotten her. "Oh, John." she said softly as she pulled out a beautiful pair of garnet and diamond earrings. She grabbed her phone and called him right away.

"Munch." he said as a greeting.

"It's Olivia."

"Hey Liv...um...Merry Christmas and thanks for the new watch. My old one was getting pretty beat up."

"I noticed and you're welcome. Merry Christmas to you too." She paused a second. "Munch?"

"Yeah, Liv."

"Thank you so much for the earrings. Why?"

"Because I wanted to. You are like a sister to me and when I saw them, I just had to get them for you. Your birthday is in January, isn't it?"

Sobbing now, Olivia whispered "Yes. It is. I am so touched. I love you like a brother. I need to go now before I make a complete fool of myself." She tried to laugh.

"No problem, Liv. Enjoy."

With that, they hung up.

Olivia didn't know if she would be able to get through her other gifts or not. She never expected something as personal or expensive from Munch. She, again, felt so blessed to have her SVU family.

She laughed when she opened the gift from Melinda. For years they had been getting each other the same thing, their favorite perfume. Casey's gift was equally as predictable. They go each other Starbucks gift cards. Hers would go unused for a while now that she had sworn off caffeine due to the baby. Fin's was much the same. They got each other gift cards for favorite eateries every year. She called each of them and thanked them for the gifts.

It was time for Elliot's gift. She didn't know why but his gift made her nervous. She slowly unwrapped the box and when she opened it, she gasped for the second time this morning. Elliot had gotten her a beautiful necklace, ring, and earrings set. All the stones were cut in her favorite emerald cut and the tag read genuine garnet. Once again, her eyes filled with tears as she grabbed her phone and pressed 1 on her speed dial.

Three rings later, she heard the familiar voice announcing "Stabler." into the phone.

"El." Olivia said thickly between sobs.

"Liv? Are you alright? What's wrong? Do you need me to come over?" He asked in rapid succession.

"I'm fine. I just opened your gift and am a bit overwhelmed by it. Thank you but you shouldn't have."

"Oh...you're welcome." he said, sounding embarrassed. "I saw it and knew your birthday was in January, so I bought it. You do like it, don't you?"

"Yes. Yes. I love it. Um...I need to go before I start crying again. How did I get so lucky to work with such a great group of guys?"

"Born lucky, I guess." said Elliot then winced when he realized what he had said. "Merry Christmas, Liv."

"Merry Christmas, El. Thanks again."

One more present to go. She reached over and grabbed another ginger chew to tamp down the nausea that was slowly beginning to build. "Wonder if Jane and Maura are awake yet?" she said to her bump. "It was pretty late when we went to bed and I did get a nice nap on the train. Oh well, one more gift then I'll take the ones we got them down and put them under the tree. Alright little one?" Olivia paused as if she was actually waiting for her baby to talk back. She didn't have to run and vomit so she took that as agreement from the baby.

She unwrapped the last package, opened the lid of the box and whispered "Oh, Cap." It was a silver necklace with a charm that read FEARLESSNESS on it. She just held it in her hand and stared at it for a while. It was gorgeous. Simple but gorgeous and the charm said it all. She reached once again for her phone and pressed speed dial 2.

On the second ring, she heard that familiar, fatherly voice say "Cragan."

"Cap. It's Olivia. I just opened your gift and..."

"You like it?"

"Oh, Cap. I love it. That charm says it all. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. When I saw it and read that charm, I thought...that's my Liv. She has FEARLESSNESS."

"Thanks again, Don. I'm going to go before I start crying. Love you."

"Love you too, Liv. Enjoy your time off."

She put on her necklace, gathered the paper then the gifts she had gotten for Jane and Maura and headed downstairs. She wasn't surprised to find that her friends were still sleeping. It was only 9am and they hadn't gotten to bed until almost 3am. She knew she would pay her her early wake-up but when the nausea hit, the nausea hit.

She wandered in the kitchen, finding a mug and some herbal tea. She spied a hot water tap and thought _of course they have one of these_ and poured the steaming water over the bag. She grabbed the presents from the counter and headed to the family room where she placed them under the tree then relaxed on the sofa and pulled the afghan over herself as she lounged back to enjoy her tea. She must have fallen asleep because she was startled by footsteps and voices on the stairs.

"There you are, Liv." said Jane as she picked up Olivia's feet, sat down and place her feet on her own lap. "I told Maura that you were up."

Olivia stifled a yawn and said "I woke up early. Old habit, you know, and found some tea. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course we don't mind." said Maura. "I'm just happy you were able to find what you needed. Have you eaten yet?"

The green tinge that instantly colored Olivia's face told Maura all she needed to know.

"Excuse me." said Olivia as she cupped her hand to her mouth and broke into a run for the powder room.

"God, Maur. Isn't there anything we can, you can, do for her? She's puking her guts out almost constantly."

"I know, Jane. I'm concerned about her as well. If she'll allow me, I can start an IV and give her fluids. If we do it now, I can have them run in before everyone arrives and hopefully that will make her feel better."

Olivia returned to the family room. "Sorry about that. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Jane and Maura said in unison, then Jane nudged Maura for her to make her proposition to Olivia.

"Olivia. I'm concerned with the number of times you have been vomiting. If you would, I would like to start an IV and run a bag of fluids into you. I think it will help you feel better."

Olivia stared at Maura then blinked and looked at Jane who was nodding her head up and down.

"Do you really think it will help?" Olivia asked.

"Yes. I really do." answered Maura in her professional voice.

"Okay then. Let's do this." said Olivia and rolled up her sleeves to give Maura her choice of veins.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I really appreciate them. As always...I don't own SVU or Rizzoli & Isles. I merely borrow them for entertainment purposes.**_

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Chapter 4

Christmas Day

Maura gathered all the supplies necessary to start the IV on Olivia. She turned on the overhead light as well as the table lamps to make the room as bright as possible then carefully looked over both of Olivia's arms before making her decision as to where she would start the IV.

"I think this vein in your left forearm looks like a good one." said Maura as she tightened the tourniquet around Olivia's bicep.

Olivia nodded and turned a little green.

"Oh dear. Do you have to vomit again?" asked Maura, noting the color her friend was turning.

"I think I'll be alright. Do you think I can lay down while you do this?" asked Olivia. Sweat was beginning to form on her forehead and upper lip and she looked like she might pass out.

"Of course you can." said Maura and she quickly released the tourniquet before helping Olivia lay back on the couch and placing pillows under her ankles. "Better?"

"Much. Thank you." Olivia said, the green tinge fading slightly.

"Jane, honey." Maura said.

"What's up?" Jane inquired then spotted her friend laying down with pillows under her feet. "Hey, what happened in here?"

"Olivia got a bit ill so we laid her down." Maura said.

"You okay, Liv?" Jane asked as she looked her friend over.

"Yes. Much better now. You'd think with all that I see, everyday, on the job that a little needle wouldn't phase me but..." Olivia let her words trail off.

Jane laughed. "Who'da thought that Olivia Benson would faint at the sight of a needle. Now that's a good one."

"She didn't faint, Jane. She merely suffered a slight panic attack." Maura said.

Olivia groaned while Jane squealed with delight.

"Really Jane. You are acting like a child. Olivia is ill and you are delighting over it." Maura rebuked.

When Maura turned her head to glare at her wife, Olivia looked at Jane and stuck her tongue out at her then stifled a laugh at the look on Jane's face.

Pointing at her friend who quickly laid her head back on the cushion Jane stammered, "Did...she...i'm...Oh, never mind."

Olivia continued to grin as she looked at Jane.

Maura returned her attention back to her patient and asked, "Do you think you're ready for me to start your IV?"

Clearing her throat and forcing her face back into it's relaxed state, Olivia said "I think so but even if I'm not, just do it so I can start feeling better." She looked at Jane who gave her an _I'm watching you_ signal, hoping that her friend would distract her long enough for Maura to get the IV in place.

"All done." said Maura triumphantly before Olivia even knew what she was doing.

"Are you done already?" Olivia asked in surprise. "I didn't even feel you put the needle in. Wow, Maura, you're good."

"That's my wife!" Jane said proudly as she helped Maura up off the floor where she'd been kneeling.

"I'm serious. The girl at the lab that draws my blood hurts me way more than that." Olivia continued.

"Thank you, Olivia." said Maura with a slight pink tinge coloring her cheeks at the compliment. "Do you think you can get the equipment, Jane, while I get the solution?"

"Sure, babe. I be right back." said Jane as she walked into the utility room.

"Olivia, have you been having any muscle cramps or spasms?" Maura asked as she walked to the cupboard to get a bag of fluids.

"No. Why?" asked Olivia.

"If you were having muscle spasms, I would opt for the solution that contains either a 10% or 20% potassium solution. That would help ease the spasms but since you aren't I will go with a 0.9% normal saline solution. It is closest to the body's natural fluid." Maura said, selecting the proper bag.

Just as she returned with the bag and IV tubing, Jane returned with an IV pole and IV pump.

Olivia's eyes widened as the equipment. "Geez, Maura. Do you have your own little clinic here?"

Maura chuckled at the shocked expression on Olivia's face. "Not quite but when Jane and I made the decision to become pregnant, I wanted to be prepared in case anything like this arose."

Olivia nodded her head then said, "Well, I for one am thankful you were so proactive. What else do you have? An ultrasound machine? A birthing suite?"

Maura blushed and said "Well...I do have an ultrasound but as for the birthing suite, I'm sure we could convert the yoga room into one. Good idea, Olivia. I'll have to think about that one. Jane, what do you think about home births?"

"What!? No. No, no, no. I want a hospital and I want drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. Thanks, Liv." Jane grimaced at her friend. "You know she'll consider this as a birthing option now."

"Sorry." said Olivia, grinning at Jane.

Maura was still deep in thought. Jane and Olivia figured she was thinking about home births but surprised them when she looked at Olivia and asked, "Have you had an ultrasound yet?"

"N-no. I haven't."

"Would you like me to perform one for you? How many weeks are you? Maybe we'll get lucky and be able to hear the heartbeat or at the very least, see the little one. What do you think?"

Olivia stared at her, wide-eyed. "You would do that for me?"

"Of course I would. What would be a better Christmas present than to see and/or hear your baby?" Maura said, beaming.

With tears in her eyes Olivia whispered, "Oh Maura, that would mean so much to me. I'm a little more than 16 weeks. Thank you."

Maura blinked back her own tears then said, " You are plenty far enough along for us to see something. Let's get those fluids running into you first then I'll go and get the ultrasound machine and we'll take some pictures."

Olivia blinked a few more times as she shook her head yes.

Jane walked over and sat down on the couch along side Olivia and grasped her hand. "She's something else, isn't she?" asked Jane.

"She sure is." Olivia said. "How often do you do ultrasounds on each other?"

Jane chuckled and squeezed her friend's hand. "About once a week. We have been doing them since we found out we were pregnant. It's amazing to see them changing and growing. I can't wait until we can see what they are."

"You want to know what they are?" Olivia asked.

"Why, don't you?" Jane asked.

"I guess I never really thought about it. I'm just concentrating on making it from one minute to the next without throwing up. Yeah, to answer your question, I do want to know what the baby is."

They heard a noise and saw Maura pushing the ultrasound machine into the family room. Jane gave Olivia's hand one last squeeze then got up and went to retrieve a chair from the dining room for Maura.

Maura flashed a smile at Jane before sitting down on the chair and addressing Olivia. "Are you ready to see your baby?"

Olivia couldn't speak. Her throat was too clogged with tears. She just blinked back her tears and lifted her shirt.

"The gel is going to be cold." Maura said.

Olivia nodded.

"Ready?"

"Ready." Olivia said thickly."

Maura squeezed the gel onto Olivia's bump.

Olivia gasped when the cold gel touched her skin.

"Sorry." said Maura.

"That's alright." said Olivia with a smile. "Small price to pay in order to see my baby."

Maura flipped a switch and the machine hummed to life. She pushed a button on the monitor and the screen glowed, indicating it was ready for use. She grasped the ultrasound wand and placed it on Olivia's abdomen. She started by distributing the gel evenly over Olivia's stomach then began zeroing in on the target.

Olivia's eyes never left the screen. All of a sudden, she let out a gasp. "Is...is that my baby?" Her rounded eyes instantly filled with tears.

"It sure is." Maura said as she grasped Olivia's hand.

Jane stepped closer to the screen to take a closer look. "Oh god, Liv. Look at that." she whispered. "That's your baby."

Olivia couldn't speak. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she stared at the screen. _Her baby. That was her baby._

Maura sniffed back her own tears and asked "Would you like a picture or two of your baby?"

"Y-yes." Olivia whispered. "Please."

Maura printed a couple pictures then moved the wand around to view the baby from different angles. She printed a few more then asked, "Would you like me to switch wands and see if we can hear the heartbeat?"

Olivia didn't want to see her baby's image leave the screen but she longed to hear it's heartbeat so she blinked and shifted her gaze to Maura and nodded yes.

Maura wiped off the head of the first wand then grabbed the next one and placed it against Olivia's abdomen. She moved it around then a _swoosh-swoosh-swoosh_ was heard.

All three women gasped.

"Is that the baby's heartbeat?" Olivia asked.

"Yes." said Maura.

"Oh my god." said Olivia. "Should it be that fast?"

"The rate is perfectly normal for a 16+ week old fetus." said Maura.

"Awesome isn't it, Liv?" said Jane, voice thick with tears of joy for her friend.

"It sure is." said Olivia.

"Oh." said Maura as she removed the wand from Olivia's abdomen. "Is your arm feeling alright where the fluids are running in?"

Olivia blinked then looked at her left arm. "It must be." she said. "I completely forgot about it, seeing the baby and all."

"It looks fine to me. I'm running it in at 150cc/hr. If you feel like you are having trouble breathing, start coughing or have any other problems, let me know right away so I can assess you and slow the fluid rate down. Okay?"

"Yes. Sure. Thank you again." said Olivia. "Is it alright for me to sit up and walk around?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, of course." said Maura.

"Good." said Olivia. "I really need to use the bathroom."

"Do you need to vomit?"

Olivia laughed. "Believe it or not, I don't. I have to pee!"

Maura and Jane laughed too.

"That's a nice change, right Benson?" Jane said.

"Very nice." Olivia said and she wheeled the pump down the hall to the powder room.

When Olivia returned from the powder room and sat down on the couch beside Maura, Jane jumped up from the chair she was in and announced "Presents!"

Jane pulled the footstool over to the tree and began sorting through the gifts in search of specific ones. "Got it!" Jane announced triumphantly and handed the gift to Olivia.

"For me?" she asked.

"Of course for you. Did you think we'd let the holiday pass without getting you something other than a fruit & chocolate basket?" said Jane with a smirk on her face.

"Thank you. If you look over to the left, you'll find a couple from us (she caressed her abdomen) to you and Maura. Open the boxed ones first." she said with an equal smirk on her face at the bewildered looks on Jane and Maura's.

"For us?" Maura said. "Whenever did you have time."

"I got them a while ago. Hope they will still fit." Olivia chuckled.

"Open yours first." said Jane.

Olivia did and laughed when she saw it was a BPD Homicide Division sweatshirt. "This is wonderful!" she said. "Thank you so much. I hope it will still fit me." She said as she laughed again. "Open yours."

Jane and Maura opened theirs and Olivia received twin grins from her friends when they saw what she had gotten them, NYPD Special Victims Unit sweatshirts.

"Liv." Jane said. "These are so awesome. Thank you."

"Yes. Thank you, Olivia. These are wonderful." said Maura. Grinning she added, "I hope they still fit us as well."

Jane and Maura opened gifts from each other and when they were done, Jane handed Olivia another present that read _To Baby Benson from Maura, Jane, and Babies Isles-Rizzoli_

"Oh Jane, Maura, this is too much. Thank you."

Jane had a mischievous grin on her face as Olivia opened the package.

Olivia let out a squeal of delight when she saw what the items were then held them up for a better look. They were onezies with one reading _My Auntie is a Boston Medical Examiner_ and the other read _My Auntie is a Boston Homicide Detective_.

Olivia squealed again. "These are perfect! I love them. Thank you so much. Now find the other ones we got for you." She again caressed her abdomen.

Jane found the ones that read _To Baby Isles-Rizzoli from Baby Benson_ and _To Baby Rizzoli from Baby Benson. _She handed one to Maura while she sat back to open the other.

"Oh Olivia." Maura said. "This is adorable." She held up the onezie then draped it over her protruding abdomen so Jane could read it _My Auntie is NYPD._

Jane chuckled as she held hers up then draped it over her protruding abdomen so Maura could read it _My Auntie is an NYPD Detective._ "Liv. These are so perfect."

"Great minds think alike." said Olivia as she draped the onezies over her softly rounded abdomen.

Just as they finished, the IV pump began beeping. Olivia and Jane looked at it to see what was wrong.

Maura got up and said, "Looks like your fluids are finished. How do you feel?"

Olivia blinked then smiled and said, "Actually, I haven't felt this good in quite a while. I think this is the longest I've gone without puking since I found out I was pregnant. Maura, you're a genius."

Maura smiled and said, "Actually I am a genius. My I.Q. Is in the genius range. It's..."

"Maur..." Jane cut her off. "It was just a figure of speech. Liv was just thanking you for making her feel better."

"Oh." said Maura as a blush crept up her neck. "I'm sorry, Olivia. Sometimes I misunderstand what people mean."

Olivia hugged her friend. "That's alright Maura. I wouldn't want you any other way."

Maura returned the hug then stood up and turned off the machine then grabbed a saline flush to clear the rest of the fluids from the line and into Olivia's vein. "Let me flush this then I'll remove the IV stylus and get you bandaged up."

Olivia held up her hand to stop Maura. "Ummm. Do you think we could leave it in for another day or two?" she asked.

"Why?" Maura and Jane asked at the same time.

"In case I need more fluids. It would keep me from having to be poked again." Olivia's turn to blush.

"Of course we can leave it in." said Maura. "As long as it remains patent, we can leave it in for another two days."

"Thank you." said Olivia.

"Hey." said Jane, looking at her watch. "We better get changed. Ma and the rest will be here at any moment and we don't want to still be in our jammies."

The three women hurried upstairs to change. After borrowing more clothes from Jane and Maura because none of hers fit anymore (except for her sweats), Olivia deemed herself presentable, went back downstairs to join her friends, and waited for the festivities to begin.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and for your continued support. It means a lot to me. As usual, I do not own these wonderful characters, that honor goes to Dick Wolf and Tess Gerritsen.**_

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Chapter 5

Christmas Day/Evening

"Stop fidgeting, Liv." said Jane as she watched her friend from across the room.

"I'm sorry but I've never spent Christmas with a family before and I'll admit...I'm a bit nervous about it. I still feel like I'm invading your family's festivities." Olivia said as she adjusted her sweater for the umpteenth time.

"Olivia." said Maura, "You are a dear friend and invited guest. No. You are more than a guest. You _are_ a member of this family."

"Really?" asked Olivia. "You consider me a part of your family?"

"Of course we do." said Maura. "Jane told me how you saved her from that maniac you were pursuing when you worked together."

Olivia interrupted with a wave of her hand and said "It was nothing that she wouldn't have done for me."

"Liv." Jane said, "It wasn't nothing. You saved me from a certain death and ended up injured yourself. Not many people would do that for someone they had just met, let alone a cop from another state."

Olivia flushed. "I really didn't think about anything like that at the time. I just saw a colleague and new friend in trouble and reacted. Anyone would have."

"Not true, Liv. Most of the guys I work with at BPD wouldn't reach out and pull me back off the street if a car was speeding toward me. What you did went above and beyond. You will forever be my sister because of that."

Olivia dropped her head. She didn't want Maura and, especially, Jane to see her tears.

"She's right, Olivia. You will always be a part of our family due to that one act of heroism. Because of you and your selfless act, I have my wife and a beautiful baby on the way. I, too, owe you." Maura said.

Olivia sniffed and wiped her cheeks. "Thank you both so much. I never knew you felt that way. I mean, I love you both like sisters but I never knew you felt the way you did about that incident."

"I do, Liv. I just never had the opportunity to tell you before." Jane said quietly. "You took a bullet for me. That is something I will never forget."

"Oh." said Olivia. "It was just a flesh wound."

"Flesh wound? Flesh wound!" said Jane, almost yelling. "Olivia, that bullet fractured your shoulder blade and almost pierced your lung. I wouldn't call it a flesh wound."

Wanting desperately to change the subject Olivia said, "Your colleagues really wouldn't save you from a speeding car?"

Jane gave a short chuckle and said "Not everyone works with guys as great as you do at SVU, Liv. My colleagues would rather use me as a battering ram than protect me."

Maura excused herself and went to the kitchen to make them some tea and to warm up cinnamon rolls that Angela had brought with her for them the night before.

"I find that so hard to comprehend." Olivia said with a slight frown. "How are they treating you since your pregnancy?"

"Even worse." said Jane. "I mean, they keep me from harm but they feel that an equal trade-off for that is I get to do all the paperwork." Jane rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows I _hate_ to do paperwork. What about you? Do the guys at SVU treat you any different since you've been pregnant?"

"Um...they...um...don't know yet. You and Maura are the first ones I told." Olivia said timidly.

"Oh yeah, right. I do remember you saying about that." Jane said thoughtfully. "Why haven't you told them yet, Liv? It's not like you're going to be able to hide that bump much longer. They are detectives, you know." Jane winked at her friend.

"I don't know. I guess I wanted to make sure I mad it through the first trimester before telling anyone, you know, in case something happened." Olivia said.

"Wait a minute." said Jane as she held up a hand. "How did they not know something was up. I mean, you've been puking your guts out like crazy. Didn't that tip _anyone_ off?"

"Well..." Olivia said sheepishly. "I'm about the only one who uses the women's restroom and it's right next to the copy room. I've made tons of copies over the past several weeks." She let out a giggle.

"Dang, Liv. If you wanted to turn to the back side of the law, heaven help the rest of us. You are one sneaky girl. How did you handle it in the field?"

"I'd take plastic bags with me and manage to get myself separated from the rest of my squad for a bit then it was breath freshener and back to the scene. No one was any the wiser."

"What did you do with your bags of puke?" Jane asked.

Maura had just returned from the kitchen with a tray of tea and cinnamon rolls when Jane asked that question.

"Jane." Maura said. "Is that really an appropriate question to ask right before we enjoy some brunch?"

"Umm...I...umm...sorry Maur. You're right. I shouldn't have asked that. Sorry Liv." Jane said as she tried to keep from laughing which was made even harder due to Olivia breaking into fits of giggles on the couch opposite Jane's.

"I'm thinking I might have missed something." Maura said, looking from one detective to the other.

Olivia recovered enough to say, "You didn't miss anything, Maura. Jane was just asking me what I did with my baggies after I threw up in them at a scene."

Maura mouthed _Oh!_ then set the tray on the table between the three couches.

"To answer your question, Jane, I would tuck it into my jacket pocket and dispose of it in the first trash can I came to."

Jane laughed. "Ingenious! Hungry, Liv?"

"Yeah, actually, I'm starved." said Olivia as she reached for a mug of tea with one hand and a cinnamon roll with the other. "Thanks again, Maura. I don't know when in the past couple of months I've felt this good."

"The miracles of modern medicine." Maura said with a smile as she reached for her own tea and roll.

The three women continued to talk, some of it shop and some of it babies, as they ate. They no sooner had finished when there was a knock on the front door. Jane and Maura looked at each other, puzzled.

"Who could that be?" asked Maura. "Were we expecting anyone?"

"Not that I was aware of." said Jane. "It's definitely not my family. They just barge in."

The knock sounded again.

"I'll get it." said Jane as she stood from her couch.

Jane reached the door on the third knock and opened it a crack then gasped. "Constance! We weren't expecting you. Come in. Merry Christmas." Jane practically pulled the woman through the door then gave her a warm hug.

"Mother?" Maura said as she stood up and crossed to the woman.

"Maura, darling, Merry Christmas." said her mother. "Let me have a look at you." She took in Maura from head to toe. "My, my. Haven't we grown since the last time I saw you. You too, Jane."

"Mother." said Maura. "It's so good to see you too. Merry Christmas." She leaned in and gave her mother a warm but awkward hug. "Let me take your coat. We thought you were in Europe."

"But I have presents in the car." Constance began.

"Leave them." Jane said. "I'll have my brothers get them when they get here. Come on in. I want you to meet a good friend of Maura's and mine." Jane pointed to Olivia sitting on the couch and taking in the scene before her.

"Oh. I'm ever so sorry." said Constance as she fluttered a hand to her chest. "I didn't know you had company. If I had, I wouldn't have just stopped in as I did. I decided to head to Europe after the first of the year. Is there a problem?"

"There's no problem, Mother." Maura said as she walked her mother into the family room. "You stopped in at the perfect time. You can meet Olivia and stay for Christmas dinner with us and Jane's family."

As the women approached, Olivia stood up and, again, adjusted her sweater.

"Mother, this is Olivia Benson." Maura said. "Olivia, my mother, Constance."

Olivia held out her hand. "Such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Isles."

"The pleasure is all mine, Olivia." said Constance as she shook hands. "Please, call me Constance."

"Alright, Constance, I will."

"How is it you know my daughter and her wife?" Constance asked, trying not to sound like she was interrogating the woman in front of her.

"Well," Olivia started then blew out a breath as she reached her left hand to her stomach and began caressing it, "Jane and I met several years ago when we were working a mulit-state crime with each other." She sat down, still rubbing her stomach, then continued. "I met Maura shortly after that and the three of us became instant friends and have remained close ever since."

Constance watched Olivia rubbing her stomach as she listened then, the realization of who this woman in front of her was hit her. "You're the young woman who saved my daughter-in-law from certain death, aren't you?" she asked, eyes round.

"Yes. I guess I am." whispered Olivia as she leaned back into the couch cushions, suddenly nauseous. As she did, the sleeve of her sweater pulled up and the IV in her forearm was revealed.

"What is that, dear?" Constance asked as she pointed to Olivia's arm.

"Oh, this. This is...ummm...this is...ummm...excuse me." Olivia said as she quickly got up and raced down the hall.

"Where's Olivia?" Maura asked her mother as she and Jane returned from the kitchen with another pot of hot tea and 4 cups.

"It's the strangest thing." Constance began. "We were talking about how the three of you met when her sleeve pulled up and I noticed something on her arm. When I asked about it, she excused herself and raced down the hall." Constance blinked up at her daughter and daughter-in-law. "Is she alright?"

Jane started down the hall after Olivia. "I'll check on her." she said over her shoulder.

Maura sat down on the couch beside her mother to explain. "You see, Mother, Olivia is pregnant and suffering from terrible sickness. What you saw on her arm was an IV that I started this morning so I could give her fluids. She was doing so well..." Maura trailed off and bit her bottom lip as she looked down the hall after her friend. "I was hoping that it would help her through the day."

Constance began talking to her daughter then noticed the far off look in her eyes and knew Maura was deep in thought and wouldn't hear a word she was saying.

Maura stood up and began toward the hallway when she heard the powder room door open and the unmistakable sound of Jane and Olivia's voices as the two drew closer.

"Olivia. How are you feeling?" Maura asked, concerned.

"I'm alright. Just a bout of nausea. I was feeling so good and it hit me out of nowhere." Olivia said then looked over Maura's shoulder to Constance and added, "Mrs., um, I mean Constance. I am so sorry for running out on you like that. I just didn't feel well."

Constance smiled at her daughter's friend. "No worries, Olivia. Maura informed me of your happy news. You just concentrate on feeling better."

"Thank you." Olivia said as she sunk down on the couch, closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. She felt the couch sink and knew someone sat down beside her and she opened one eye to see who it was. Maura was looking at her.

"I was thinking," she began, "the fluids helped a lot. What I'm proposing is that we give you another, smaller, bag of fluids and I will add an anti-emetic to it this time. That should help you get through the rest of the day and dinner without any more nausea. What do you think?" Maura looked at Olivia.

"An anti-what?" asked Olivia.

"An anti-emetic. It's a drug that helps keep nausea at bay. It's perfectly safe for the baby. I did all the research before purchasing. I had to give some to Jane early on in her pregnancy and she said it helped."

"It really did, Liv. Trust Maura, she knows what she's talking about." Jane said as she smiled at her wife and friend.

"Alright." said Olivia. "I'm just glad we left the IV in."

Maura set about getting the pump, tubing, and a 250cc bag of fluids (She gave Olivia a 1000cc bag earlier). She carefully added the medication then primed the tubing. She flushed the IV to be sure it was still working, attached the tubing to the hub and whirled the machine into start mode. "This should run for about 2 hours and don't be surprised if the medication makes you a bit sleepy. Don't fight it, allow yourself to get some sleep. The more you can relax, the better." she said as she rechecked all the settings and the IV in Olivia's arm.

Before she could stand up, Olivia reached up and gave her a hug. "Thanks again, Maura. I don't know what I would ever have done without you and your ministrations."

Maura returned the hug, straightened, then said "You're welcome. I'm just happy that I can help you. If you weren't here, with us, I'm afraid you would have ended up in the hospital."

Olivia visibly shuddered. She hated hospitals. She knew she would have to be in one to have the baby but that would be for a happy event. She had spent too much time in them for not so happy events over the course of her career and avoided them like the plague.

"Here's a blanket, Liv." said Jane as she sat down beside her friend. "Why don't you put your feet up and get some sleep like Maura suggested. My family won't be here for about an hour and that should give you plenty of time for a nice nap." She stood up and moved over to the couch at Olivia's head.

"Thanks Jane. I think I'll do that. Maura has yet to steer me wrong." Olivia kicked off her slippers as she swung her legs onto the couch, then covered herself with the blanket, closed her eyes, and drifted off to the sweet sound of Christmas music playing softly throughout the house.

Jane dozed off too but jerked awake when Maura sat down and laid her head on her wife's shoulder.

"How's she doing?" Maura asked in a whisper.

"I think better. It doesn't look like she's moved but, then again, I did doze off myself." Jane whispered back with a chuckle.

"We can let her sleep for another 20 minutes before waking her. I don't want your family bursting in and scaring her. That could undo all the good the medicine is doing." Maura whispered.

"Sounds like a plan." Jane whispered back. "Where's your Mother?"

"She's in the kitchen making a surprise." Maura said. "She said she wanted to do it, so I let her." She shrugged as she relaxed back onto Jane's shoulder again.

Jane kissed the top of her head then reached out to stroke Maura's protruding abdomen just as Maura reached out and laid a gentle hand on hers.

"This is the best Christmas, ever." said Maura in a whisper as she looked up and captured Jane's lips in a tender kiss.

"I couldn't agree more." whispered Jane after the kiss broke. "I just wish I knew what was up with Liv and her baby's father. Where is he and why isn't he here, with her?"

"She'll tell us when she's ready." Maura whispered back. "You know how private Olivia is about her personal life."

"That she is, Maura. That she is." whispered Jane. "All in her time."

Their whispered conversation was interrupted when they heard Olivia stirring.

"Hey." Olivia said in a croaky, sleep-thickened voice. "What time is it? How long have I been out?"

"It's about 10 minutes til 4. We were going to let you sleep a few more minutes so my family didn't scare the crap out of you when they blasted in."

Maura extracted herself from Jane's embrace and sat on the couch along side Olivia. "How are you feeling? About half of the bag has run in. Any nausea?"

Olivia shifted and sat up slightly, resting on her elbow. "I feel good. Really good." She smiled at Maura. "I just hope it lasts the rest of the day."

Maura inspected the IV for patency then said, "You should be good for the rest of the day. If not, I can administer another dose in about 6 hours."

Just as Maura stood up, the front door blasted open and a whole gang of Rizzoli's fell in.

"Merry Christmas!" they all yelled as they stumbled through the door.

Angela spied Olivia lying on the couch with the IV tubing snaked into her arm and rushed over to give her a hug. "Oh, Livvy, baby. Are you still sick? Poor baby and on Christmas."

Olivia looked embarrassed at being singled out by Jane's mother. "Merry Christmas, Angela. Yes, I am still sick but Maura is fixing me right up. This (she held up her arm) should be done in about an hour."

"That daughter-in-law of mine is a genius, isn't she." Angela said as she cast a motherly glance in Maura's direction.

"Yes. She is." Olivia agreed.

Angela straightened up and turned toward the kitchen and said, "I better get in there and get to work so we can eat around 5:00." She started off then stopped and said, Oh, Constance, what a pleasant surprise. I didn't know you were going to be here. The more the merrier."

Olivia's IV finished just as Angela announced that dinner was ready. The IV worked miracles. Olivia was able to eat, drink, and enjoy the company of her friends and their families without a hint of nausea.

When dinner was over, they all piled into the family room and exchanged gifts. Much to Olivia's surprise, Angela had gotten one for the baby.

Olivia's eyes welled with tears as she read the tag, _To: Baby Benson, From: Grandma Angela_. She tore open the wrapping to find the cutest BPD Homicide Detective onezie. "Oh Angela." she said, "this is adorable." As she held it up for everyone to see, she saw something was written on the back of it. When she looked closer, she started to laugh and turned it around for the rest to see. _Rookie_ it read.

Angela beamed back at her and was surprised when Olivia leapt from the couch and grabbed her into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you so much. I absolutely love it."

The rest of the day and evening passed without incident. Olivia felt wonderful and was even able to have a small piece of pie and decaf coffee. She really missed her coffee. The dishes and kitchen were cleaned and everyone bade each other a good night and were out the door by 9:00.

Jane flopped on one couch with a blanket, Maura flopped onto another with a blanket, and Olivia onto the third, pulling the blanket she had used earlier onto her. All three were exhausted and had aching backs and feet. Even though she was about two months behind her friends and their bellies were bigger, Olivia had the same aches they did due to the almost constant nausea and emesis she had been experiencing for the past 14+ weeks.

Jane let out a groan as she rubbed her stomach. "Come on, kid, settle down in there." she said to her bulge as she tried to get the baby to stop moving so much.

"I know what you mean." said Maura with an equally loud groan as she rubbed her own belly. "This one seems to be practicing for the olympics."

Olivia also let out a groan and rubbed her bump that had seemed to grow larger over the past two days. "Mine isn't moving yet, but it does seem to have taken up residence on my bladder." She hoisted herself up and went to relieve herself.

She returned and flopped back down with a sigh. "Thanks again, you two. I can't ever remember a more enjoyable Christmas, vomiting and all." She chuckled.

"We're just glad you decided to come and spend Christmas and New Year's with us." Jane said. "This was nice."

"Yes." Maura said. "My sentiments exactly."

The three of them became quiet and one by one, they all drifted off to sleep with their hands resting gently on their respective baby bumps.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Thank you for your continued support. Olivia belongs to Dick Wolf and Jane, Maura, etc belong to Tess Gerritsen.**_

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Chapter 6

December 26

Jane woke up several hours later and blinked in the darkness. Her momentary confusion resolved when she heard familiar light snores coming from somewhere near her head. She reached up and felt the arm of a couch then the soft curls of her wife's hair. The living room. They had fallen asleep in the living room. Jane rolled onto her side then pushed herself into a sitting position. Jane noticed it was getting harder lately to sit up without pushing herself with her hands. She caressed her belly and smiled. She couldn't believe she was having a baby, let along be married to Maura. She heaved herself to her feet then went over to the couch occupied by her wife.

"Maura." she whispered as she gently caressed her wife's cheek. "Maura, wake up. Let's go up to bed. We fell asleep in the living room again."

Maura drew in a breath then reached up and grasped Jane's hand. "What time is it?" she asked.

"I'm not sure." whispered Jane. "Has to be after midnight. Let's go up to bed." She extended her hand to her wife to help her sit up. Maura had to be having trouble sitting up too.

"What should we do about Olivia?" Maura asked. "Should we wake her up? She seems to be sleeping peacefully."

"I'm not sure." said Jane. "Part of me wants to wake her but what if she's the type that once she's wakened, she can't go back to sleep."

"Maybe we should let her sleep. She'll go to bed when she wakes up. Do you think we should cover her with another blanket?" Maura said.

"Maybe we should. It does get chilly in here toward morning." Jane said as she gently laid her blanket over her friend then put Maura's blanket on the back of Olivia's sofa.

Olivia woke up a few hours later, confused as to where she was. She knew she was sleeping on a couch but it didn't feel like hers. She sat up and blinked in the darkness to take in her surroundings. She was at Jane and Maura's she realized then realized she needed to pee. She opted to use the downstairs powder room, knowing she wouldn't make it to her room upstairs.

Olivia made it up to her room, collapsed into her bed and immediately fell asleep.

When Olivia awoke again, it was several hours later, or so she assumed, and a faint ray of winter sunlight was filtering through the gap in the curtains. Olivia rolled onto her back and stretched. A thought suddenly hit her, _I'm not nauseous! _She tempted fate and sat up. Still no nausea but the urge to urinate became overwhelming and she quickly got herself out of bed and into the bathroom.

Once finished relieving herself, Olivia washed her hands then her face and stood up to take a good look at herself in the mirror. She checked her reflection head-on, from the left, and from the right. _Hmmm, s_he thought, _I actually look rested and I'm definitely not nauseous, that Maura really knows what she is doing._ Olivia dried her face and hands then grabbed her robe from the end of her bed and decided to head down to the kitchen in search of a cup of hot tea.

Olivia heard the voices of her friends when she got to the bottom of the steps. They were talking and laughing in hushed tones, no doubt keeping their voices down as to not wake her. She walked around the corner and gave a cheery, "Good morning." as she continued to the breakfast bar where Jane and Maura sat, clutching steaming mugs of hot tea.

"Good morning." they said in return greeting.

"Would you like some hot tea, Olivia?" asked Maura as she went to retrieve another mug from the cupboard.

"Hot tea sounds wonderful. Thank you." Olivia said as she sat down on the opposite side of the bar from her friends.

"How are you feeling, Liv?" Jane asked.

"Great!" said Olivia. "That medication did the trick."

"Would you like for me to remove the IV now?" asked Maura.

Olivia thought for a moment then shook her head and said, "I think I'd like to leave it in for another day or two if we can. I just want to be sure this feeling is going to last."

"We can leave it in for another two days then it will have to come out, otherwise we risk the chance of infection." said Maura, once again slipping into doctor mode.

"Whatever you think is best, Maura." said Olivia.

"Let's eat." announced Jane as she stood up and rubbed her belly. "This one feels like scrambled eggs and toast. Anyone else have a craving for anything different?"

"Eggs and toast sounds wonderful." said Olivia. "Show me where the skillet is and I'll do the cooking. It's the least I can do for you."

"You don't have..." Maura started but was quickly hushed by a look from Jane.

"It's the least I can do. You have been more than gracious to me. Besides," Olivia chuckled, "Breakfast is about the only meal that I cook that anyone can eat. I'm not the best in the kitchen."

Jane and Maura laughed too and Maura retrieved the skillet from the cupboard and handed it to Olivia.

"Thank you. Now, where are your spices? I think I can manage to find the eggs."

"I'll get them." said Jane and she grabbed a few jars from a spice rack and handed them to Olivia. "Anything else you need?"

"Is there anything else you would like in them such as cheese, mushrooms, whatever?"

"Mmmm." said Maura. "I think some cheese and spinach, along with a few mushrooms sounds heavenly."

Jane mimed vomiting behind Maura's back and Olivia had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

Olivia made each plate of eggs to order then the three sat down and enjoyed a pleasurable meal.

When they were finished, Jane asked, "What are we going to do now?"

Olivia shrugged her shoulders and she and Jane both turned and stared at Maura.

Maura sat down her tea mug and stared back. "Why are you leaving it up to me? Don't either of you have any ideas?"

Jane said, "Well, Liv and I would be happy watching action movies and eating popcorn but I know that's not your thing. What would you like to do?"

Olivia nodded that she agreed with Jane then added, "Yes, Maura. What would you like to do. I'm a guest. I'll do whatever you want."

Maura thought for a moment then said, "I did DVR.."

Jane moaned.

Maura shot her a death glance then continued, "I did DVR a movie entitled _We're the Millers _and from the previews, it looked quite amusing. Maybe we could watch it then we could watch one of the ones you DVR'd, Jane."

"I've heard that is a really funny movie." Said Olivia. "Which ones did you DVR, Jane?"

"_Non-Stop , Snitch, and Wanted._ They all looked good." Jane said.

"I've heard of them." said Olivia. "Any of those would be good. I haven't seen any of them. I don't have too much time to go to the movies."

"Then it's settled." said Jane as she took their dishes to the sink, rinsed them, and put them in the dishwasher. "Maur, where's the popcorn?"

"You can't possibly want popcorn already. We've just eaten breakfast." said Maura.

"But it's for the baby." Jane whined as she jutted out her bottom lip and rubbed her belly.

Maura huffed.

Jane whined.

Olivia chuckled and glanced back and forth between her two friends like she was watching a tennis rally.

Maura stomped her foot and said, "Fine. You win. I hid it in the pantry behind the cans of spinach and kale. Make enough for all of us."

Jane gave Maura a raised eyebrow look then said, "Oh, yeah."

Maura looked sheepishly at her wife then rubbed her own belly and said, "I think this little one would like some too."

Olivia laughed out loud at this. Both Jane and Maura looked at her.

Olivia rubbed her belly too and said, "I think this little one wouldn't mind some popcorn."

"Good." said Jane and she grabbed three bags of popcorn and headed for the microwave.

The three got themselves comfortable on their respective couches, armed with pillows, blankets, popcorn, and drinks, then Maura started the movie.

They were laughing so hard that they had to rewind the movie several times then pause it several more so they could each take bathroom breaks.

When the movie was over, Olivia said as she was clutching her stomach, "I don't know when I've laughed so hard in my life. Good choice, Maura."

"Yeah, Maur. That really was s good choice." Jane agreed.

"It was quite amusing, wasn't it." she said.

"Ready for the next one?" Jane asked.

"I, for one, would like to let my stomach muscles relax a bit before the next movie." said Olivia. "I don't think laughing at that movie then tensing over an action movie will feel very good."

"I agree with Olivia." said Maura. "Would anyone like anything else? I'm thinking about another mug of tea."

"Sounds good." said Jane.

"I'll help you." said Olivia as she got up. "Besides, I need to use the powder room."

When they returned to the living room and were all sipping mugs of hot tea, Jane broke the silence by saying, "Liv, can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer if you don't want to and we'll forget I ever asked."

"Sure, Jane. Feel free to ask me anything." said Olivia, knowing what Jane was wondering.

"The baby's father. Why isn't he here, with you, over the holidays?" Jane asked as a blush crept up her neck.

Olivia took a few more sips of tea, like she was deciding the best way to answer her friend, then set it down and said, "Actually, there is no father."

Jane's eyes widened and Maura said, "Olivia there has to be..."

Olivia held up her hand then continued, "There is a father. I just don't know who he is."

"God, Liv." said Jane. "You weren't raped, were you?"

"Oh no, Jane. Nothing like that. I, um, I used an anonymous donor."

"Oh." said Jane and Maura together.

"Why, Liv? I mean, you're a gorgeous woman and any man would love to be with you and father a child with you." Jane said.

Olivia blushed at the compliment and said, "Thank you, Jane, but I didn't just want _any _man. I wanted a baby and I'm getting older and the window of opportunity is closing, so I took matters into my own hands."

"Sounds reasonable." said Jane.

"Did you have an IVF procedure or an IUI procedure done?" asked Maura.

"I had an insemination. Actually, I had three inseminations before it took." said Olivia. "How did you get pregnant?"

"We had inseminations also. We got lucky and they both took on the first try." Maura said.

"Tell us about your donor and we'll tell you about ours." said Jane.

"Alright." said Olivia as she sat back against the couch then leaned to the side and pulled her feet up as she placed a pillow under her stomach. "He's 6'3", has blue eyes and light brown hair. He stated that he used to play football but had to quit because he had an injury. He is physically fit. No real health issues with him or his immediate family. Oh, and he's in law enforcement."

Jane and Maura's eyes were both round and neither said anything, instead they looked at each other.

"What?" asked Olivia.

"Liv..." Jane said, "Where did you get your donor sperm from?"

Olivia looked at her, puzzled, and said, "From a sperm bank."

"No. I mean where was the sperm bank that you got it from."

"Oh." she said, "I got it from the Patriot sperm bank in Bos..." she stopped talking and looked at her friends.

"What was your donor number?" asked Maura.

Olivia's mouth went instantly dry. "It was donor number 17392, why?"

"Oh! My! God!" exclaimed Jane.

"Why?" asked Olivia becoming anxious. "Do you know him? I thought the donors were anonymous."

"They are and we don't know him." said Jane.

"Then why are you...oh my god." Olivia said.

"Yes." said Maura. "That is the same donor we used."

"Oh my god!" Olivia said again. "That means that our children are...that our children are half siblings."

Each woman sat there and digested the revelation as they each ran a hand over their stomach.

"What are the chances of this happening?" asked Jane, apparently the first to come out of her trance.

"I could do some calculations to get you an exact number." said Maura.

"Not what I meant, Maur, but I do appreciate it." said Jane.

Olivia remained silent as she stared at the floor and rubbed her belly.

"Liv? Is everything alright?" asked Jane. "I know this is a shock, I'm still freaked about it, but this is also awesome. Our kids are siblings. That is so cool."

Olivia blinked then snapped back to the present. "I'm sorry. What did you say?" Her voice was shaking somewhat and both Jane and Maura noticed her hands were as well.

"Olivia." Maura said as she got up and went over to sit down beside her friend. "What's going on?"

"I, um, I...I just can't believe this." she whispered. "My baby is going to have siblings. I knew yours and Jane's would be related but mine..." She turned her head and looked at Maura and Maura could see the tears welling in Olivia's eyes.

"Aren't you happy about this?" Maura asked.

"Yes." Olivia whispered. "I guess I'm just in shock. If my child was going to be a sibling of any, I'm so glad it's yours and Jane's." Olivia wiped the tears from her cheeks and smiled at her friends. "Siblings. Who would have ever thought."

The heightened emotions and the stress kicked Olivia's nausea back up and she hurriedly excused herself and raced to the powder room in time to vomit. She heaved a couple more times before rinsing her mouth and heading back to the living room.

"Everything okay?" asked Jane.

"Yes. Fine." Olivia lied.

"Everything is not fine, Olivia. You are white as a corpse. You threw up again, didn't you?" Maura asked.

"I did." said Olivia as she sat back down. "I think it was from the shock of finding out that we used the same donor. My head is still spinning over that."

"Do you think you'll be needing an infusion?"

"Let's hold off on that for a while and see how things go." said Olivia. "Do you have any ginger ale?"

"Sure." said Jane as she got up and headed for the kitchen. "Do you want it over ice? I think we have plain and also with cranberry. Any preference?"

"I think the cranberry would taste good and yes to the ice. Thank you."

Jane returned with a glass of cranberry ginger ale for each of them and they sat in silence for a few moments sipping their beverages, the only sound being the ice clinking against the sides of the glasses.

Olivia cleared her throat. "This is really good." she said as she sat her glass down.

"Maura and I really like it too and it seemed like an appropriate drink to get around Christmas, especially since we can't have alcohol."

There was more awkward silence then Olivia broke it again by saying, "Do you think we could watch one of those other movies, Jane?"

"Yeah, sure. Which one would you like to see?"

"I'm thinking _Wanted_. Isn't that the one with Angelina Jolie?" Olivia said.

"YES!" said Jane enthusiastically.

"Oh great." said Maura with a groan. 

"What?" asked Olivia and Jane at the same time.

"You know what, Jane."

"Well, I don't." said Olivia. "Enlighten me."

"Jane kind of has a thing for Angelina." said Maura as she rolled her eyes. "She gets a bit, um, wound-up after watching one of her movies."

"Oh." said Olivia. "Sorry, Maura. We can watch one of the others."

"Noooooo." said Jane with a wink at Olivia. "_Wanted_ it is. I promise I'll behave myself." She snickered. "Besides, I'm 6 months pregnant. What do you think I'll be able to do."

"Oh, Jane." Maura groaned as she buried her face in her pillow. "Olivia doesn't want to hear about our bedroom escapades."

Olivia just giggled. "Start the movie, Rizzoli." she said. "If you get too out of hand, I'm only 4 months pregnant and I can still move fast enough to take you down."

Jane gave Olivia an incredulous look and Maura and Olivia broke into fits of giggles.

Jane suggested more popcorn but Olivia declined saying that she wasn't sure her stomach could handle more than the ginger ale right now and Maura said something about too much salt and swelling, so Jane just flopped down and hit play on the DVR.

The three watched the movie without Olivia having to hose Jane down. It was a high action movie and each one tensed and gasped at the same time. When it was over, Maura checked the wall clock and said, "Is anyone interested in some lunch? It's 1:05 pm and I know I am getting hungry."

"I think I could use something to eat as well." said Olivia.

Jane was always ready to eat.

They made sandwiches and cut up some fruit then returned to the living room to continue their day of leisure and relaxation.

"Which movie now?" asked Jane.

"Do we have one that isn't so high action?" asked Maura.

"How about _The Heat_?" asked Jane.

"Oh. I love that movie." said Olivia. "Let's watch that one."

They ate their sandwiches and fruit as they laughed at the police antics of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy before, one by one, falling asleep for an afternoon nap.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing. I'm very appreciative of them. This story will take place over the week Olivia is staying with Jane and Maura and some of when she gets back to NYC, then it will time jump a bit just to keep the story rolling. Thanks again and enjoy.**_

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Chapter 7

Olivia awoke with a start about an hour later and momentarily confused. She saw that the TV screen was showing the logo from _The Heat_ then remembered that she was watching the movie with Jane and Maura. She leaned up on her elbow and looked around the living room for her friends. She was worried that she had fallen asleep and had offended her friends but had to hold back a laugh when she saw they were sprawled on their respective couches, mouths agape and sound asleep.

She leaned back against her pillow to relax a bit more when she was struck by a feeling of discomfort in her lower abdomen. Her hand reflexively went there and she rolled onto her side and slowly made it to her feet. When she stood up, the discomfort increased and she hurried down the hall, barely making it to the powder room and getting her pants down before she emptied her bladder. Instantly and thankfully, the discomfort was gone and she let out a little moan of relief. "Don't do that to me, rookie." she said as she pulled up her pants then crossed to the sink to wash her hands. "Mommy almost didn't make it that time." She rubbed her blossoming bump and headed back to the living room.

When Olivia approached the end of the hall, she heard voices and knew her friends were awake.

"Good afternoon." Olivia said as she entered the room. "Did you sleep as well as we did?" She resumed the rubbing of her belly as she sat down on the couch beside Maura.

"I know we did." said Maura, rubbing her larger abdomen. "This little one loves when Mommy takes a nap. To be honest, Mommy loves the naps too." she giggled.

Jane let out a loud yawn. "We", she rubbed her belly which was surprisingly larger than Maura's even though they became pregnant at the same time, "would have slept a lot better is someone", she shot a look over the arm of her couch at Maura, "wouldn't have wakened us." She then smiled at Maura and added "But I'm glad you did. We're hungry and have to pee." She flung back her blanket and struggled to sit up before scurrying down the hall and slamming the powder room door shut.

Maura and Olivia looked at each other and laughed.

"Come on, Olivia." Maura said as she hoisted herself to her feet and offered Olivia a hand. "Let's go to the kitchen and find us something to eat. Craving anything in particular?"

Olivia accepted the proffered hand and stood up. "Hmmm. I think a turkey club salad sounds wonderful. Do you have the ingredients? If not, I'll run to the store and get them." Olivia forgot she didn't have a car and that she had no idea where the closest store was.

Maura thought for a moment and said "We don't have turkey but we do have some boneless chicken breasts and turkey bacon. Would that work?"

"That would be fine. I'll cook the chicken and bacon if you would like to handle the rest." Olivia said. "Do you think Jane will be alright with this choice for supper?"

"Jane will be fine with it as long as she can have pita bread with hers." Jane said as she walked into the kitchen, smiling. "Are you sure you can handle cooking the meat, Liv?"

"I know I'm not the best cook, Jane, but I can handle this much." Olivia said as she sat down the bottle of olive oil then turned and placed a hand on her hip as she glared at her friend.

Jane held up her hands in an _I surrender_ gesture. "I just meant, will your stomach be able to handle it? I didn't mean anything else, honest."

"Oh." Olivia said, blushing slightly. "I thought you were referring to my lack of culinary skills."

"No. I was just going to volunteer to cook if you weren't up to it. My Ma taught me how to cook. I know my way around a kitchen quite well."

"I never had that luxury." Olivia mumbled as she turned back to the stove then said, louder, "I think I'll be alright. I'll let you know if I have any problems. Thanks."

Jane and Maura exchanged a knowing glance, both having heard what Olivia mumbled, then set about getting the rest of the salad and pita bread ready.

Olivia was just finishing with the chicken and turkey bacon when Jane asked, "What would you like to drink Maura, Liv?

Olivia said "Some of that cranberry ginger ale, if you have any more."

"Mmmm, yes." said Maura. "That sounds good."

"Coming right up." said Jane as she went the pantry to get another bottle. "Uh, ummm. We're out of cranberry but we do have raspberry if you'd like that."

"Sounds good to me." said Olivia and Maura at the same time.

Jane poured as the other two set the table, then they sat down to eat.

"This chicken is delicious, Olivia." said Maura as she closed her eyes and savored the flavor as she chewed. "How did you season it?"

Olivia smiled then said, "Thank you. I crushed up a couple cloves of garlic and added them to the olive oil while it heated then just used salt, pepper, rosemary, and a bit more garlic. Just something I experimented with and found I liked it. I'm glad you do."

"This is wonderful, Liv." said Jane as she speared another piece with her fork. "Did you cook the bacon in with the chicken?"

"Yes." said Olivia. "I thought it would give it nice flavor too."

"This is fabulous. You can cook for us any time." said Maura.

"I wouldn't go that far." said Olivia with a laugh. "Breakfast and chicken tend to be my specialties. Other than that and heat-n-eat meals, I'm pretty useless in the kitchen."

"Useless or not, this is delicious." said Maura. And I don't like to refer to anyone as useless. Let's call you, kitchen challenged." She smiled at Olivia.

Olivia laughed and shook her head. "Oh, Maura, you know how to make someone feel good about themselves even when they don't deserve it. Thank you."

"My wife." said Jane as she reached over and covered Maura's hand with her own. "She just has that way about her."

Olivia smiled then sat back and rubbed her stomach. "God. I'm stuffed."

Maura noticed that Olivia had only eaten about half of her meal while she and Jane had all but devoured theirs but didn't say anything (for once).

"So you won't be wanting dessert?" Maura asked.

"Maybe in a bit." Olivia said just as Jane spoke up that she would love some.

Maura shot a quick look at Jane.

"Maybe we could wait a bit." Jane said after seeing the look from her wife. "I'm a bit full myself. Want to go back in the living room and try watching _The Heat_ again? I don't think any of us saw much."

"Sounds good to me." said Olivia as she stood up. "I'll just clean up here and be in."

Maura grabbed Olivia's arm. "Leave it, Olivia, we'll get it later."

"You sure?" Olivia asked.

"I'm sure. Besides, you did all the cooking. Let's go and relax a bit and worry about this later."

"Alright." Olivia said as she grabbed her glass of raspberry ginger ale and headed into the living room.

Maura was shocked at the lack of resistance from her friend. Usually, Olivia would insist on cleaning up. She decided to keep a close eye on her for the evening, something was definitely up and Olivia was trying to make everything seem like it was fine. '_Typical_' thought Maura.

The three women sat on their respective couches and only Olivia pulled a blanket over her. Maura made a mental note of that and hoped her friend wasn't coming down with anything.

As the movie played, the three women laughed and Jane and Olivia commented on how certain things would never be permitted in an actual interrogation or in a squad room.

All of a sudden, Olivia became very quiet. So quiet that even Jane, who had been completely engrossed in the movie, noticed.

Jane looked over and saw Olivia, wide-eyed with fear, doubled over and clenching her stomach with her hands. "Liv!" Jane yelled as she hurried as quickly as she could from her couch to her friend's. "Liv. What's the matter? Is it the baby?"

By this time, Maura had come over as well and was in full doctor mode. "Olivia." she said in her professional voice. "Tell me what's going on. Are you having pain?"

Olivia panted and shook her head '_yes_'.

"Can you tell me or show me where?" Maura asked as she peered into Olivia's eyes.

"Here." Olivia gasped as she held the right side of her abdomen. "I...I...I...have to throw up."

Jane grabbed the trash can and got it under Olivia's chin just in time. Olivia heaved several times before collapsing back against the back of the couch, eyes rolling back in her head.

"Maur, what's wrong with her?" Jane asked, not even trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"I'm not sure." said Maura softly, voice also shaking. "Call an ambulance. We need to get her to the hospital."

"You don't think it's the baby, do you? That would kill her if she lost it." Jane said.

"I don't know. I hope not. Please, Jane, make the call."

Jane hurried to the phone and dialed as Maura tried to arouse Olivia.

"Olivia." Maura said as she tapped the side of her friend's face. "Olivia wake up." She tapped harder.

Olivia's eyes fluttered and she blinked them open. "Maura? Wha...oh..." she started to say then grabbed her abdomen again and started to cry.

Jane sat down and pulled her friend into a tight embrace as tears streamed down her own face. "It's going to be alright, Liv. It's going to be alright."

Maura was sitting on the other side of Olivia and holding her hand, not knowing what to say to her.

After a few moments that seemed like hours, they heard the ambulance and Maura got up and hurried to the door to let the paramedics in.

"Ma'am." the first paramedic named Pete said. "We were told that a pregnant woman, um, 18 weeks along, was experiencing abdominal pain. Is it you, Ma'am?" He looked at her protruding abdomen, thinking she was way further along than 18 weeks.

Jane stood up and said, "Over here."

Again, Paramedic Pete saw her abdomen and thought the same thing but said "Where do you hurt, ma'am?"

"Oh. It's not me. It's our friend, Olivia." Jane said as she pointed to Olivia sitting on the couch.

"Of course." Pete said as he stepped around Jane to sit down beside Olivia and motioned to his partner, Charlie, to come over. "My name is Pete and this is my partner, Charlie. Can you tell me what's going on?"

Olivia nodded, tears streaming down her face. "It hurts here." She rubbed the right side of her abdomen.

"Any nausea or vomiting?" Pete asked.

Olivia went to respond but a wave of nausea hit her and she grabbed the trash can as an answer.

Charlie was busy checking her vitals and he pushed up the sleeve of her sweatshirt to check her blood pressure when he discovered the IV in her forearm. "What's this for?" he asked as he showed it to Pete.

Maura jumped in. "Oh, I started that the other day to give her fluids. She was having a lot of emesis episodes and needed hydration."

"And you are?" Pete asked looking at Maura.

"I'm Dr. Maura Isles-Rizzoli." she said. "I'm the Chief Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I am more than qualified to start an IV and infuse fluids."

"I'm sorry, Dr. I hadn't realized. My apologies, ma'am." Pete said.

"Is the IV patent?" Charlie asked.

"I flushed it this morning and it seemed to be in working order." said Maura. "You might want to check it again, though."

Olivia moaned and heaved again.

"Can you please hurry up." said Jane, impatience clearly showing. "She needs to go to the hospital. If I knew you were going to fool around this much, I would have taken her myself."

"Jane." Maura said as she placed a calming hand on her wife's arm.

"You are?" Pete asked.

"I'm Detective Jane Rizzoli, Homicide with BPD and this is one of my best friends, Detective Olivia Benson with the NYPD Special Victims Unit. She needs help and now!" Jane practically screamed the last word.

Pete took a deep breath and nodded then said "Let's load her up and get her transported, Charlie. How are her vitals?"

"BP is low, HR is up as is her temperature. The IV is patent and I have 0.9% NSS infusing at 125cc/hr." said Charlie in his professional jargon.

Pete and Charlie got Olivia strapped onto the gurney and prepared to transport her to the hospital.

"Liv." Jane said to her friend as they wheeled her to the front door. "Maura and I will be right behind you. Don't worry. We'll be there with you."

Jane heard a weak "Thanks Jane." as Olivia was wheeled out the front door and into the back of the waiting ambulance.

Jane watched as they loaded Olivia into the ambulance and shut the doors before she returned inside the house. She was met at the door by Maura, already bundled in her winter coat, with Jane's winter coat in her hand.

"Thanks." Jane said as she shrugged into it and attempted to zip it shut. "I'll drive."

Maura nodded and they hurried out the door and to Maura's Prius just as Angela pulled into the driveway.

"Maura, Janie. Where are you headed off to? Is Olivia staying home?" the matriarch asked.

"Actually, Ma, we are headed to the hospital." Jane said as she pulled the driver's door open.

"The hospital?" Angela questioned. "Whatever for?"

"It's Olivia." Maura started before being cut off by Angela.

"Olivia!" Angela exclaimed. "What happened? Is the baby alright?"

"We don't know, Ma." said Jane.

"Angela, why don't you come with us and we can talk in the car. We want to get to the hospital right away. Olivia has no one but us and we need to be there for her." Maura said as she gestured toward the back of her car.

"Yes, of course." Angela said as she hurried to the car.

They barely had the doors shut when Jane shifted the car into drive and screeched out onto the street.

"Now." Angela began, "Tell me what happened to Olivia. She seemed fine yesterday."

"She's been suffering from severe nausea and vomiting most of the time she has been here and apparently before arriving. I gave her fluids and she was doing well. She seemed fine until supper tonight. She made us the most wonderful salads and I noticed she only ate 1/3 to ½ of hers then didn't argue when I suggested we leave the dirty dishes until later. That's not like her. She seemed alright when we were watching most of the movie then Jane and I noticed she was quiet and looked to see her clutching her stomach in obvious pain."

"Oh no." Angela cried. "Was she bleeding?"

"Not that I could tell or that I noticed." said Maura. "Jane, did you notice any bleeding?"

"No." was Jane's only response. Maura noted the set of her wife's jaw and the determination on her face and knew Jane's only concern was for their friend.

"She did throw up several more times and complained of pain in her abdomen but that's about all I could get out of her. She's as stubborn as Jane is." said Maura.

Angela laughed. "Janie has always been like that. She would never tell me when she was sick or hurt. She would get so bad that she couldn't get out of bed and that's how I would find out. One time..."

"MA!" Jane shouted. "Enough already."

Angela let Jane's rudeness slide because she knew how worried and scared she was for her friend.

Several minutes later, they pulled into the hospital and Maura didn't even protest when Jane pulled out her Medical Examiner placard and placed it on the dash.

The three women hurried into the emergency room and Jane flashed her badge at the nurse at the front desk and demanded to know where Olivia was and what was going on with her.

The look on Jane's face must have been so fierce that the nurse didn't even speak, she simply stood up and motioned for them to follow her. "Here." was the only thing she said as she pointed to the door.

Jane burst into the room followed by Maura and Angela.

"Liv." Jane said as she rushed to Olivia's bedside. "How are you? What did they tell you? Is the baby alright?"

"Jane." Olivia said through her tears as she grabbed her friend's hand. "They haven't told me anything. They took blood and have me scheduled for some tests. I'm so scared. I can't lose my baby."

Maura was on the other side of Olivia and took her hand. "Olivia, did you have any lower abdominal cramping or bleeding? Any spotting at all?"

Olivia thought for a moment then said, "No. My pain has been here", she ran her hand along the right side of her abdomen, "and I've had no spotting at all. Why are you asking?"

"No spotting is good."

"It is? Why? What about this pain?"

"No spotting means that your cervix is still firm and your mucous plug is still intact. That's a good thing. As for the pain, I'm not sure."

Olivia looked at Maura. "Do you think my baby's alright?"

"It would appear so but let's wait to see what the doctor has to tell you."

Angela went to say something comforting the the woman she now saw as another daughter when the door opened.

"Ms. Benson?" the doctor asked.

"I'm Olivia Benson." Olivia said.

"Ms. Benson, I'm Dr. Gibson." the woman said as she approached the bed.

"What's wrong with me, Dr. Gibson?" Olivia asked as she attempted to sit up.

"Well," Dr. Gibson said, "I would like to run some more tests but it seems..."

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_**Sorry for the cliffhanger. I just had to...**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: So many PM's about the cliffhanger that I actually felt a wee,wee, tiny bit sorry about it. Lol. Not really but I've decided to do an update ahead of schedule. Enjoy. Disclaimer seen in chapter 1.**_

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Chapter 8

"What's wrong with me, Dr. Gibson?" Olivia asked as she attempted to sit up then thought twice once the pain hit her and laid back down and grabbed her two friends' hands.

"Well." said Dr. Gibson, "I would like to run some more tests but your blood work shows an elevation in your Alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, amylase, and lipase plus an elevated white cell count."

"My what?" asked Olivia.

"Yeah, doc. Speak detectivese to us. Only Maura understands googlemouth." said Jane.

Maura slapped herself on the forehead with the palm of her free hand and said, "I should have known."

"See." said Jane. "I knew she'd understand."

"Janie." said Angela. "Let Dr. Gibson talk."

Dr. Gibson cleared her throat, smiled at Angela and continued on like there was never any interruption. "From the results of your lab work, it appears you have acute cholecystitis."

"Acute what?" asked Olivia and Jane at the same time.

Olivia looked at Maura and asked, "Whats acute whatever?"

Maura gripped Olivia's hand tighter and calmly said, "Your gall bladder is bad."

"Oh. I take it that's not a good thing." Olivia responded as she looked from one doctor to the other.

"It's not a good thing," said Dr. Gibson "but it isn't something that can't be managed. I would like to do an ultrasound to confirm since it's the only test we can do, given your condition."

"My condition? Am I that sick?" asked Olivia in alarm, all common sense right out the window.

"Your pregnancy, Olivia." said Maura with incredible patience. "They can't do any other tests because they would be harmful to the baby."

Olivia blushed then let go of Maura's hand and rubbed it over her belly. "Oh. Sorry. I guess I wasn't thinking."

Dr. Gibson chuckled then said, "Given how you were feeling when you came in, I can't say I blame you. I'll get you scheduled as soon as possible then once I've had a chance to review the scans, we'll talk about options."

"Options?" asked Olivia.

"Whether we need to do surgery right away or if we will be able to manage this with diet and occasional medication until you have delivered the baby. Pregnancy can exacerbate a bad gall bladder."

Dr. Gibson turned and left and in doing so, left Olivia with many more questions.

"Maura?"

"Yes, Olivia."

"Was she serious about surgery?"

Maura chewed her bottom lip. "Yes."

"I can't have surgery. I'm almost 5 months pregnant and only have vacation until January 5th. My squad and captain don't even know I'm here, let alone that I'm pregnant."

"They will only do surgery if it is absolutely necessary. Do you think we should call someone back home to let them know what's going on?" Jane asked, breaking into Maura and Olivia's conversation.

"Not yet." said Olivia. "I want to have the ultrasound and talk to Dr. Gibson about what happens next before I call anyone. Besides, I have the three of you."

"You know we'll be here for you and help you in any way possible, sweetie." said Angela as she rubbed Olivia's foot. "You are like another daughter to me."

"Thank you, Angela." said Olivia, throat suddenly thick. "You are more of a mother to me than mine ever was." she whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

Angela moved to the head end of the bed and enveloped Olivia in a motherly hug but said nothing.

A short time later, a young man in a red jacket that read _Transportation_ came into the room and said he was there to take Olivia for her ultrasound.

"Can my family come with me?" Olivia asked.

"They are all your family?" the young man asked, confused, as he looked around at the women and noticed how different they all looked from each other. The only exception was the older woman and the tall brunette who resembled each other.

"Yes. They are." said Olivia without any further explanation.

"Okay, ladies. Please follow me." he said without any further questions.

After several twists, turns, and one rickety elevator ride, they arrived at the imaging department and Olivia and her entourage were led into a room.

The ultrasound tech came into the room, reading Olivia's chart, then looked up and was surprised to see so many people in there.

"Hi. I'm Theresa, the ultrasound tech. Who might you all be?"

"I'm Olivia Benson, the patient and this is my family." She pointed to each woman and stated her name. "We have Angela, Jane, and Maura."

"Nice to meet everyone." Theresa the tech said then took in the protruding abdomens of two of the women standing and the bulging one of the woman laying down. "Fertile bunch." she said then looked at Angela and said, "Looks like you are going to be very busy in a few months."

Angela laughed and looked at her girls. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Now, lets get down to business. It seems like Dr. Gibson feels you have a bad gall bladder, right?"

"Yes." all the women answered in unison.

"Alright let's take a look, shall we?"

Olivia nodded and pulled up her gown to expose her growing bump.

"Wow, Liv. You have gotten bigger in the past few days." said Jane.

Olivia smacked her arm and said "Thanks for noticing and announcing." Then she laughed.

Jane faked being injured and grabbed her friend's hand right as the tech squeezed the cold gel onto Olivia's abdomen.

Olivia gasped and tightened her grip on Jane's hand.

"Sorry." said Theresa. "I guess the gel was colder than I thought."

"It's alright." said Olivia, "It just caught me bu surprise."

Theresa smeared the gel all over Olivia's abdomen and Maura couldn't help herself.

"Um, Theresa, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job but the gall bladder is in the upper right quadrant, directly under the lower ribs. I don't think you needed that much gel all over her abdomen."

"I know." said Theresa with a smile. "I thought the probe could accidentally slip down and we could say hi to a certain little one, if you know what I mean." she winked at Maura.

"Oh." said Maura. "I understand."

Olivia grinned and thanked Theresa the tech.

"Here's your gall bladder, Ms. Benson."

"That thing right there?" Olivia asked as she pointed to the screen.

"Yes and, um, could you please move over. I can't see and I can't allow you to use the equipment, ma'am."

Maura had wedged herself between Olivia, the tech, and the ultrasound machine and grabbed the wand from Theresa's hand.

"I just want a better look at the common bile duct." she said as she maneuvered the wand into a better position. "Aha. There it is." Maura exclaimed in triumph.

Theresa the tech just looked at Olivia, Jane, and Angela with a _WTF?_ look on her face.

Jane spoke up. "She's a doctor."

Theresa made her mouth in the shape of an _O_ and nodded her head.

Maura was completely oblivious to what was going on around her and looked at Olivia and said, "You see this right here? This is the common bile duct and as you can see, yours has a slight blockage. This dark spot is a gall stone and it hasn't completely obstructed the duct, so some bile is getting through but when your body required more bile, such as after you eat and need to digest food, the duct can't release it and it backs up into the gall bladder and you experience pain." Maura finished with a huge grin on her face.

"Oh, wow. Thank you, Maura." Olivia said then added, "What does that mean?"

Maura looked confused then hurt and said, "I thought I just explained all of that to you."

"No, honey." Angela said. "She means will she need surgery?"

Maura blushed then said "Oh, sorry. I misunderstood your question, Olivia. I don't believe surgery will be necessary right now but I'm not sure what Dr. Gibson will think. After all, she is a surgeon and I am a medical examiner. Our specialties are quite different."

Theresa the tech just sat back and absorbed the interactions of this highly unique family.

Olivia looked at Theresa and said, "I believe you mentioned about saying hi to someone."

"Yes!" Theresa said as she jumped up from her stool and went to retrieve the wand from Maura. "May I?" she asked.

Maura released her grip on the want and Olivia felt her family close in around her to get a glimpse of the youngest family member.

Theresa expertly moved the head of the probe over Olivia's stomach, stopping at the spot where all the women took in a deep breath.

"There's your baby!" Theresa announced happily to the group. "Would you like to hear it's heartbeat?"

Olivia nodded "Yes, please."

Theresa turned up the volume and the room was suddenly filled with the _woosh, woosh, woosh_ sound of a beating heart.

"Oh my god." Olivia said, not able to take her eyes off the screen. "It's my baby's heart and I can see it beating while I'm hearing it."

Tears were falling fast and hot down her cheeks and she looked at the others to see that they had tears in their eyes as well.

"Amazing, isn't it." said Jane.

"Such a beautiful fetus." said Maura.

"Hello, little pumpkin." Angela said to the screen, "Grandma can't wait to meet you. You be good for Mommy and let her eat something, alright?"

Olivia laughed then grabbed Angela's hand.

"How about a couple pictures?" Theresa asked.

"Yes but you won't get in trouble, will you?" Olivia asked.

"Nah. Dr. Gibson's cool. In fact. She'd be more pissed at me if I didn't."

"Okay then, snap away." said Olivia.

"Oh, what have we here?" asked Theresa.

"What? What do you see?" asked Olivia in sudden alarm.

"I can't be sure because you're only 18 weeks but I think I might be able to tell you the sex, if you would like to know." Theresa said with a grin.

Olivia looked at the others. "Yes or no?"

"Yes!" a chorus of voices rang out.

"It's unanimous." said Olivia. "Tell us."

"It appears like you will be having a little boy, Ms. Benson."

"A boy. Are you sure?" Olivia asked, grinning.

"You see this right here?"

Olivia and the others nodded.

"It appears to be your baby's penis. I could be wrong but that's what it looks like to me." Theresa looked at Maura and asked, "Doctor, a second opinion?"

Maura looked closely at the screen and nodded in agreement. "Yes, Olivia. It seems like you are having a boy. Wish this one" Maura rubbed her own belly, "and that one" she pointed to Jane's belly, "would be as cooperative. We still don't know what we're having."

Olivia stared at the screen and let out a sigh, "A boy. Who would have thought."

Angela broke in and said, "Well, I don't care what any of them are. I love them all just the same but I am very pleased to know I am getting one grandson."

Theresa checked her watch. "I hate to break up this party but we need to get you back upstairs. I'm sure Dr. Gibson has your gall bladder scans by now and is looking for you."

"Oh. I almost forgot why I was here." said Olivia as she grabbed Theresa's hand. "Thank you for everything."

"My pleasure." said Theresa. "Best of luck to all of you, especially you grandma."

They all bade Theresa the tech goodbye and looked through the pictures of the baby while waiting for transportation to arrive.

"A boy, Liv. I'm so happy for you. You did want a boy, right?" Jane said.

"I didn't care one way or the other. I just want it to be healthy but I am excited it's a boy. Gives me an excuse to play in the dirt." Olivia said with a grin.

"Yeah." said Jane rubbing her belly. "I wish this one would turn so we could see what it is."

"What do you want it to be?" asked Olivia.

"I really don't care either." said Jane "But I kinda would like a boy. I'm not all that girly like Maura is."

Maura was rubbing her own belly and added, "I really want a girl."

Just then transportation arrived and wheeled Olivia back to the emergency room. They were only in the room for a minute when Dr. Gibson knocked and entered.

"Welcome back, ladies. I was afraid I was going to have to send out a search party for you." She noticed the pictures clutched in Olivia's hand. "Aha, first things first. Let me see those baby photos." She held out her hand and was grinning. "Looks like things are developing well and, what's this, is that a penis?"

"Yes." said Olivia with a smile. "It appears I'm having a little boy."

"Congratulations." said Dr. Gibson. "I trust you are happy with the results of the baby's sex?"

"I didn't care what it was." said Olivia. "I'm just thrilled to become a mom."

"That's wonderful." said Dr. Gibson. "Now, let's go over the results of your actual test."


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: Thank you for all your kind words, reviews and encouragement to continue the story, I appreciate them very much. Sorry for the delay in the update, family emergency... Enjoy.**_

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Chapter 9

"Your actual test results confirm that you do have a gallstone, blocking the common bile duct. It's not a complete blockage but enough to cause you the discomfort you've been feeling." Dr. Gibson said.

"Does this mean I need surgery?" asked Olivia.

"That is an option." the doctor said.

"What about the risks to the baby? Anesthesia can't be good for him." Olivia replied.

"We would give you the lightest anesthesia possible and only keep you under for as long as necessary, should you decide to go that route." Dr. Gibson said.

"What are the alternatives?" Olivia asked as she looked at Maura for her input as well.

Dr. Gibson said, "We could try and manage your symptoms and then schedule you for your surgery once that little guy is born. Would you like to try that?"

Maura nodded to Olivia then said, "I think that would be your best bet right now, Olivia, then once you're back in New York confer with your physician and obstetrician."

"Oh, you aren't from Boston, Ms. Benson?" Dr. Gibson asked.

"No. I'm actually from Manhattan. I'm here visiting for the holidays." Olivia replied.

"That's too bad that this happened while you are on vacation. What do you do in Manhattan?"

"Yes but I couldn't be in better hands. I am a detective with the Special Victim's Unit, better known as the sex crimes unit."

"That sounds like quite an intense job. How are you handling it, given your condition?"

"It's rough at times, especially if I'm having a high hormone day and sometimes the nausea is worse depending on the scene but I'm doing alright."

"At least here, I know you have people to look after you."

"You know we wouldn't let anything happen to our sister, right Maura." Jane said.

"Of course we wouldn't." said Maura.

Angela piped in with, "My little girl will be well taken care of at home, Dr. Gibson. I can assure you of this."

"Sounds like you have a lot of wonderful family support." said the doctor.

"Yes. I certainly do." said Olivia as she squeezed Jane's and Angela's hands. "Maura is a physician so I feel comfortable going home and managing until the baby is born."

"Do you have support at home?"

"I do. I have wonderful friends there. I can always find someone to help."

"If you don't mind me asking, what about the baby's father? Is he around to help?"

"No he's not in the picture."

"Dr. Gibson let out a sigh. "That's too bad but back to today. If you want, I'll discharge you to the care of your family but know if the pain becomes too intense or if you or your family notices a yellowing of your eyes, come back here right away."

"Alright. I understand. I have no doubt that Maura will keep an eye on me." Olivia winked at Maura.

"Ma and I will keep an eye on her as well." Jane said to the doctor.

"Then that settles it. Ms. Benson,I'm sending you home. I'll be right back with your discharge instructions and with a release form so we can forward the results to your physician in Manhattan."

"Thank you, Dr. Gibson, for everything." Olivia said as she shook the doctor's hand.

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The four women piled themselves into Maura's Prius and were heading for home when Jane pulled over and asked, "Hey Liv, would you like to go and walk around the Boston Commons?"

"I'm sure Olivia would rather go home and rest, Jane." said Maura.

"I know I would like to go home." said Angela.

Olivia hadn't said a word and all eyes turned to her.

"I think I would like to see the Commons. We can take Angela home and I want to change into sweats, if that's alright, and then we can head there. Would that be good?"

"I'm all for that." said Angela. "I will make a nice dinner for the four of us."

"Sounds fine to me if you're sure, Olivia, and sweats sound heavenly." said Maura.

"Maura Isles-Rizzoli!" said Jane. "You mean to tell me that you are actually going to be seen in public in sweats?"

Maura harrumphed and said, "Yes, Jane, I am going to be seen in sweats. They are much more comfortable than most of my clothes right now and I'm all about comfort at this moment."

Angela and Olivia giggled from the back seat.

"Alrighty then." said Jane. "We'll take Ma home, change, and come back."

They deposited Angela at the front door of her guest house and headed in the main house to change, pee, and head back out. Jane and Maura grabbed sandwiches and juice while Olivia opted for soda crackers and a bottle of water.

As they left, Angela flagged them down.

"Will broiled chicken breast and green beans be alright for supper?" she asked.

Olivia and Jane looked at Maura for confirmation that Olivia could handle that.

"That sounds lovely, Angela." Maura said.

"Okay. You girls have fun." Angela said then added, "Text me when you leave so I can have supper ready when you get here."

"Thank you." chorused three voices from inside the car as Jane shifted into drive and took off.

Olivia managed to keep her crackers and water down and relaxed back and enjoyed the ride back into the city and to the Boston Commons.

"What's going on at the Commons that you wanted to see?" Maura asked Jane.

"I read in the paper that they're having some sort of a winter carnival and thought it might be fun to go and see." Jane said.

"That sounds like fun." Olivia said from the back seat as she yawned.

"Are you sure you aren't too tired, Olivia? You have had a rough day." Maura asked as she turned and looked at her friend in the back seat.

"I'm fine. Just my normal afternoon tiredness. This little guy really saps my energy." Olivia said as she gently caressed her belly.

"That's so awesome that you're having a boy, Liv. Wish ours would cooperate." said Jane as she looked at Olivia in the rear view mirror.

"I know. I can hardly believe it myself. A boy. Though I really didn't care." said Olivia with a smile.

"Well his Auntie Jane and Auntie Maura are excited." said Maura. "Grandma Angela is excited as well. He's going to be one spoiled little man, especially when he comes to Boston to visit his siblings."

"I still can't believe we chose the same donor. What are the chances of that happening?" asked Jane then quickly added, "Just a figure of speech, Maur. We really don't want to know the actual number."

Maura gave Jane a squinty-eyed look and said, "Some day you will want to know a figure and I'm not going to tell you. Then you'll regret making fun of me."

Olivia burst out laughing from the back seat and soon laughter filled the entire car.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the Commons and Jane drove the car down into the parking garage under the Commons and found a _Reserved for New and Expectant Mothers_ parking spot on the first level down.

"I guess we more than qualify to park here." said Jane as she shifted into park and cut the engine.

"I would think so." said Olivia as she and her two friends maneuvered their pregnant bodies out of the car. Olivia wasn't near as far along as her friends but she was still dealing with the residual pain of her earlier gall bladder attack and moved slowly and cautiously to prevent any further discomfort.

"That's getting harder and harder to do." said Jane as she placed a hand on her protruding abdomen.

"I completely agree." said Maura as one of her hands found her own protruding abdomen while the other sought Jane's hand. "We should consider getting a different car. Maybe an eco-friendly SUV. It would make it easier for us to get in and out of plus we are going to need more room."

"Something to think about." Jane said as she squeezed her wife's hand. "You alright, Liv?"

Olivia was rubbing the right side of her abdomen. "Yeah. Just a bit of pain left from the attack this morning. I'll be fine. Lead the way detective, doctor." she said with a smile.

They tool the elevator up to street level and were bombarded by many different sights, sounds, and smells emanating from the winter festival.

"I'm glad my morning sickness finally left." said Olivia as she inhaled deeply. "All these combined smells could have resulted in a not so pretty picture."

Jane laughed.

Maura looked concerned and said, "Are you sure you're alright, Olivia? Are the smells too overpowering for you? Do you feel ill? Do you want to head back home?"

"Down, Maura, down." said Jane as she pulled her wife to her side. "Liv said she was fine."

"Yes. I am fine, Maura, but thank you for your concern. I promise to tell if I have any problems." Olivia smiled at her friend.

Maura's cheeks were pink but Olivia didn't know if it was from the cold or from embarrassment.

"Where do you want to go first?" Jane asked.

"Lead the way." Olivia said. "This is a first for me. You lead and I will follow."

Jane waggled an eyebrow at Olivia then said with a smirk, "Oh, yeah? This could be fun."

Olivia laughed. "Sure Jane. What could you possibly get me into, given you are 6 months pregnant and far from your quick, agile self."

"Hey." Jane protested as she ran her free hand up and down the length of her considerable bump. "I am just as quick and agile as I've always been...well...maybe not exactly as quick and agile."

Everyone laughed and headed toward the first booth.

They had been walking, talking, and enjoying themselves for a while when Maura spotted a booth that sold ho beverages.

"Oooh. Let's stop there." She pointed with a mittened hand. "I could use a hot chocolate."

"Sounds good to me." said Jane. "What do you want, Liv?"

"Erm...uh...I think I'll just have a hot tea. I don't think I want to chance anything else."

The three were waiting for their order when a voice behind them said, "I'll have a coffee, please."

Olivia froze then remembered to breathe as she slowly turned around, "Alex?"

Her chocolate brown eyes locked onto the ocean blue ones of her best friend and both women just stood and stared.

"Olivia?" Alex whispered.

"Oh, Alex!" Olivia almost cried as she flung her arms out and gabbed her friend in a huge hug. "I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"I didn't think I'd ever see you again either." Alex said as tears slipped from her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.

A throat being cleared from behind her brought Olivia back to reality and she regretfully broke the embrace. She turned back toward Jane and Maura and they were surprised to see tears coursing down her face too.

Wiping them away with the back of her gloved hand Olivia said, "Oh. I'm sorry. This is Alex. Alexandra Cabot. She is my best friend from New York and I haven't seen her for so long. Alex, These are my good friends Jane and Maura Rizzoli."

The women exchanged greetings but Jane sensed there was something more to the story than was being told.

"So Liv. What brings you to Boston?" Alex asked.

"I'm visiting Jane and Maura for the holidays." Olivia replied.

Jane and Maura both noted that Olivia hadn't asked why her friend was in Boston. It was too much for Jane to handle and she decided they needed to go somewhere so she could get the whole story of this friendship and why they hadn't seen each other for so long.

"Why don't we head back home. It's getting cold and I'm getting tired." Jane said and she rubbed her belly for emphasis.

Maura began, "But we haven't..." She stopped when Jane squeezed her hand then said, "I'm getting a bit tired as well." This wasn't a lie, she was getting tired and also rubbed her stomach.

"Alex, would you like to come back to our house? This way you and Liv can catch up and not freeze to death doing so." Jane said with a smile.

"Yes, Alexandra, please come back to our house. Jane's mother is cooking dinner for us and always makes enough for an army."

Alex shot a glance at Olivia and upon seeing Olivia's head nodding up and down, accepted.

"That sounds wonderful. Thank you so much." Alex said. " I'm parked on the Commons garage. Where are you parked?"

"We're in there also." Maura said and the quartet began walking in that direction.

"Where do you live?" asked Alex.

"On Beacon Hill. You can follow us. Liv, why don't you ride with Alex." Jane said. "Liv? Where are you?"

The three turned to find Olivia holding onto a bench with her hand on her stomach.

"Liv?" Jane and Alex asked.

Maura rushed to Olivia's side. "Where does it hurt?"

"Same place as before. I think I'm having a flare-up. Give me a minute and I'll be fine." Olivia said as she panted lightly.

"Liv, what's going on?" Alex asked.

Olivia dry heaved.

"She's having a gall bladder attack." Maura said. "We had her in the emergency room this morning and they discovered gall stones."

"Oh god, Liv." Alex said. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing but thanks." Olivia said as she straightened and smiled weakly at her friends. "It's passed. I'm feeling better. Let's head to the cars."

"Olivia." Said Maura. "I would feel better if you rode with me so I can keep an eye on you. Jane can ride with Alexandra. Besides, if we get separated, Jane can get her to our house easier than you could."

Alex gave Olivia a look.

"Maura's a physician." Olivia explained.

"Oh. Alright." said Alex.

Maura and Olivia waited at the exit until Alex and Jane drove up behind them then set off for Beacon Hill.

Alex broke the silence in her car.

"So." Alex said to Jane. "You and Maura are married?"

"Yes." said Jane as she fingered her wedding ring. "This Valentine's day it will be a year."

"And...you're both pregnant." Alex stated the obvious.

"Yeah." said Jane as she laid a hand on her abdomen.

"So basically, you're going to have twins." Alex said.

Jane leaned her head back and let out a laugh. "Yeah. It sounded like a good idea at the time, both of us getting pregnant, but the closer the time comes to delivery the more I think how crazy it was."

Alex laughed. "You will be busy, that's for sure."

In the other car, Maura broke the silence.

"So. You and Alex are best friends?" she asked.

"Yes. We were..." Olivia said softly, "until..."

"Until what? Should we not have invited her to the house?" Maura asked with concern.

"Oh no. Nothing like that." Olivia said but didn't elaborate.

Maura sat in silence for a moment, giving Olivia time to continue if she wished. When she didn't, Maura said, "Would you mind calling Angela and let her know that there will be one more coming for dinner?"

"Oh sure." Olivia said as she took the phone Maura was offering her.

"It's under A for Angela." Maura said unnecessarily.

They arrived at Jane and Maura's home a little later and the four women walked through the front door and into the warmth and delicious smells of Angela's cooking.

"Something smell delicious." said Maura as she inhaled a deep breath.

"Smells like Ma's outdone herself this time." said Jane.

"It does smell wonderful." said Alex.

Olivia had said nothing, just stood there looking pale.

"Liv, you okay?" Jane asked.

"Just a bit nauseous." Olivia said as she kicked off her boots. "Excuse me."

"Is she alright? Maybe I should leave." Alex said.

"Don't go." said Maura. "She'll be alright in a bit. Jane, honey, do we have any more ginger ale?"

"We have a ton of it." said Jane.

"When you get your coat off, maybe you could get Olivia a glass. It seems to calm her stomach."

"Right-o." said Jane. "Alex, would you like some? It's cranberry flavored."

"Sure. Thanks." Alex replied.

The three removed their boots and coats and Maura hung them in the closet then as she was showing Alex to the living room, Angela appeared.

"Hi. I'm Angela Rizzoli, Janie's mother. You must be Alexandra." she held out a hand.

Taking the offered hand, Alex said, "Yes. I'm Alex Cabot. Olivia and I know each other from New York. I'm very pleased to meet you and thank you for the dinner invitation."

"You're welcome. Where's Olivia?"

"She ran to the powder room." Maura said. "She wasn't feeling well."

"Poor dear. She certainly has had a time of it with the preg..." Angela stopped at a look from Maura.

Olivia appeared at the end of the hall, ashen faced and sweating.

"Olivia." said Maura. "Come sit down. You don't look well. Let me help you with your coat."

"Thanks." said Olivia weakly. "Sorry Alex."

As Maura helped Olivia take off her coat, her sweatshirt rode up and revealed a very obvious baby bump.

Alex's eyes widened. "Are you pregnant?"

The room became suddenly silent.

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Sorry for the delay. My father was very ill and in ICU for almost a week. I will try to get another chapter up this weekend. Thanks for understanding.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I appreciate them. I own nothing.**_

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Chapter 10

Alex stared at Olivia, Olivia stared back. No one said a thing. Maura and Angela ping-ponged their looks back and forth between the two women, hoping someone would say something.

"Liv. Are you pregnant?" asked Alex after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

Olivia paled even more and sat down on the couch before looking up at her friend and whispering, "Yes."

"When? Who? Were you going to tell me?" Alex asked in rapid-fire succession.

"Please sit down, Alex and I will tell you everything." Olivia said as she leaned back against the back of the couch and rubbed her stomach.

Maura linked arms with Angela and turned her toward the kitchen. As they were almost out of the living room, Jane appeared with a tray of ginger ale and Maura motioned for her to turn around and go back to the kitchen.

"What?" Jane asked. "I have drinks."

Maura shook her head and again motioned for her wife to head back to where she came from.

Once they were in the kitchen, Jane sat down the tray and turned to look at her wife and mother.

"Will someone tell me what's going on?" she demanded.

Maura put a finger to her lips and shushed Jane.

"Did you just shush me?" she whispered, loudly.

"Yes. I did. Please keep your voice down. Olivia and Alex need time to, um, catch up." Maura said.

Jane opened her mouth and went to speak when Angela broke in, "They obviously haven't seen each other for a while and Alex, um, accidentally just found out about Olivia's pregnancy."

"Ma. Did you spill the beans?"

"No Janie. I did not."

"How did she find out? Liv has a bulky sweatshirt on and it isn't _that_ obvious yet."

"When I was helping her take off her coat," Maura said, "her shirt came up and it became clear that she was pregnant. Apparently Alexandra knows how fit and slim Olivia usually is and the change in her body was obvious."

Jane mouthed _Oh _but didn't say anything.

"We may as well sit down and enjoy these beverages." said Maura. "I think we need to let them talk. Will dinner hold, Angela?"

"I'll turn down the oven and cover the chicken with foil and it will be fine. I haven't put on the beans and will start the boiled potatoes in a bit."

Jane looked at Maura then couldn't resist asking, "Do you think they..."

Maura shrugged.

Back in the living room, Alex sat down beside Olivia and waited for her friend to begin telling her the story of how she became pregnant and why she was really in Boston, apparently alone.

Olivia took a deep breath then let it out slowly as she turned and looked Alex in the eyes.

"I've missed you so much, Alex." she began. "It nearly killed me not knowing where you disappeared to."

"I've missed you too, Liv."

"I guess you want to know why I'm in Boston, don't you?" said Olivia.

"That amongst other things." Alex said as her gaze traveled down to the swell of Olivia's belly which was more obvious when she was sitting down.

Olivia unconsciously rubbed her belly. "Yeah, I guess you do have questions."

Alex cocked her head to the side and asked, "Is it Stabler's?"

"What? No. No!" Olivia said as she clasped both hands over her swell.

"Fair question." said Alex. "You two have been partners forever and are very chummy with each other."

Olivia glared at Alex for a moment then said, "We are chummy but not that chummy, Alex. We have never crossed that line. Never. We're professionals."

"Sorry, Liv. I didn't mean to imply you and Stabler weren't professionals. So if it isn't him, who is the father? Not Cassidy, is it? Please tell me it's not him."

"No. Not him either?"

"Come on, Liv. Tell me who you've been with and why he let his knocked-up girlfriend travel to Boston alone over Christmas."

Olivia shook her head and said nothing. A single tear slid down her cheek and she quickly flicked it away.

"I'm sorry Liv." Alex said as she reached over and grasped Olivia's hand in her own. "I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just shocked and curious."

Olivia squeezed Alex's hand back and said barely above a whisper, "I haven't been with anyone since you, Alex."

This pronouncement took Alex back even more.

"Then...how did that happen?" Alex asked, pointing to Olivia's stomach.

"I was inseminated." Olivia said matter-of-factly.

"You were what?"

"Inseminated." Olivia said as a flush crept up her neck. "I was inseminated. I chose a donor and went to my OB/GYN and she inserted the sperm into my uterus and on the third try, I got pregnant."

"Why, Liv?"

Olivia looked down at her stomach and gently caressed it with her free hand then said, "I was lonely and wanted someone to love and who would love me in return."

Another tear slid from Olivia's eye and down her cheek. Alex gently wiped it away then leaned over and kissed her on her forehead. They stayed like that for a few moments before Alex sat back up.

Olivia finally looked up at her friend and former lover, tears freely flowing now and said, "I thought I'd never have again what we had and I just needed someone to love. I didn't want to find anyone else and I've always wanted a child so this seemed the best solution for me."

Alex also had tears in her eyes and said as she reached out to caress Olivia's cheek, "I'm so sorry I had to leave you, Olivia. I didn't want to go but I was forced to. After I was shot, I had to go into hiding and they wouldn't let me contact you, except to tell you good bye then that was it."

Tears continued to roll down Olivia's face. "Alex. I didn't think I lost you forever. We caught your shooter almost a year ago and I heard nothing from you. Why didn't you let me know you were still around? I thought we meant more to each other than that. I _loved_ you." Olivia pulled back from Alex's caresses and tried to pull her hand loose but Alex held tight.

"I tried so many times to contact you but for the longest time I wasn't allowed then I figured you had forgotten about me and moved on. I loved you too. I still love you. Do you still love me?" Alex asked as her tears continued to fall as well.

"Yes. I do love you." Olivia whispered. "There has been no one since you and there wasn't going to be. You were my one true love and if I couldn't have you, I wanted no other."

"Do you love me enough to give me a second chance, Liv?"

"I think I do but what about him?" Olivia placed her hand on her stomach.

"Him who?" asked Alex, confused.

Olivia grabbed Alex's free hand and placed it on her stomach, "This him, that's who." she said with a smile.

"Oh my god, Liv. Are you really having a boy?" Alex asked as she gently rubbed the swell of Olivia's stomach.

"As far as they can tell." Olivia replied.

"Yes, Liv. Yes. I can love you and any baby that comes out of you. I'm just so happy that you are willing to give me another chance. What did the guys at the 1-6 have to say about you having a baby?" Alex said.

"I haven't told them yet. Jane and Maura and now you are the only ones that know." Olivia said.

"I feel honored to be on the know." Alex said with a smile.

Olivia scooted closer and wrapped her arm around Alex and placed a firm but gentle kiss on her lips.

"I love you Alexandra Cabot and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you exactly how much I do love you."

'I love you too Olivia Benson. Thank you so much for giving me a second chance to prove to you how much you and now your son mean to me."

They kissed again and snuggled for a few minutes before they realized they were in Jane and Maura's house.

"Oh my god." said Olivia as she dried the last of her tears with her shirt sleeve. "We need to find Jane, Maura, and Angela. How long were we talking?"

"I'm not sure." said Alex, drying her tears as well. "Wonder where they are?"

Olivia stood up and extended her hand to Alex. "Come with me. I know where they are."

"Alright." said Alex, accepting Olivia's extended hand. "How are you feeling, by the way?"

"A bit sore and somewhat nauseated but overall, not bad." Olivia said with a smile and placed a kiss on Alex's cheek.

Olivia and Alex walked hand in hand into the kitchen where Jane, Maura, and Angela had been playing a game of Uno. Hearing the women approach, the trio looked up.

"Sorry to keep dinner waiting." said Olivia as she flashed a sheepish grin at her friends who were looking at hers and Alex's joined hands.

"That's alright sweetie." said Angela as she jumped up from the table and began busying herself at the stove. "The chicken is ready, the potatoes are boiled, all I need to do is heat the green beans."

"What can we do to help?" Alex asked, letting go of Olivia's hand.

"You don't have to do anything, Alex." Jane said. "Maura and I can set the table. What would you like to drink?"

"I have an idea." Alex said. "Why don't Liv and I set the table and you and Maura can get the drinks. Just show us where the plates and silverware is and we will tend to it."

"Really, Alexandra. We can handle it." Maura said.

"Let's all tend to everything." said Olivia. "Come on, Alex. I know where everything is."

The women got the table set and Angela served the dinner. They ate and talked and laughed until Olivia clutched her right side and let out a moan in obvious pain.

"Liv are you alright?" Alex asked in concern.

Maura was out of her seat and to Olivia's side quickly despite her advanced pregnancy. "Olivia. How bad are you hurting? Do you need to go back to the hospital?"

Jane hauled herself out of her chair and was rubbing Olivia's back, at a loss what else to do for her friend.

"Give me a minute." said Olivia, panting lightly. "The pain is easing already."

"Why don't we go and sit in the living room." said Jane. "I think you'll be more comfortable in there, Liv. We can watch a movie or something."

"That's a wonderful idea, Jane." said Maura.

"What about cleaning up?" asked Alex. "I can't come here and eat then leave a mess."

"That's alright honey. I'll clean up." said Angela. "You go in the room and look after Olivia. She needs you now." Angela gave Alex a knowing look.

"Okay." said Alex and helped Olivia to her feet and together, they followed Maura and Jane into the living room.

"Choose a couch." said Jane as she gestured to the three couches.

Olivia walked over to the one she and Alex had been using earlier and sat with her back against the arm. "Have a seat, Alex. This one seems to be mine." she smiled and patted the cushion beside her.

Alex sat down and Olivia put her feet in Alex's lap. Alex placed a hand on Olivia's ankles and grabbed Olivia's hand with the other.

Jane and Maura chose the couch opposite Olivia and Alex and Jane sat with her back against the arm of the couch and put one leg up on the cushions while Maura scooted back against Jane's bump and put her feet up too. Jane wrapped her other leg around her wife's thighs and relaxed with one hand on her belly and the other rubbing Maura's arm.

"Oh great." she said with a laugh.

"What's wrong, Jane?" Olivia asked.

"We all got comfortable and no one thought to put in a movie. What do you want to watch?" Jane said.

"Well, since I'm the only non-pregnant one here, tell me which movie you want and how to turn on everything and I'll do it." Alex said.

"Do you like foreign films, Alex?" Maura asked.

"Um...not really." Alex said, hoping she didn't offend her hostess.

Jane and Olivia started to laugh.

"Sorry sweetheart." said Jane as she tried to lean forward to kiss her wife but her swollen abdomen prevented the gesture.

Maura harrumphed and asked, "What kind of movies do you like, Alexandra?"

"Please call me Alex and I like comedy, action, adventure."

"Maura calls everyone by their given names, Alex. Get used to it." Jane said with a smile as she rubbed Maura's back.

"Do you have Salt? I love Angelina Jolie and that is a fantastic movie." Alex said.

Olivia laughed.

"What's so funny Liv?" asked Alex.

"Well...Jane has a thing for Angelina." she said with a giggle.

"I do not." said Jane as she threw a pillow at Olivia.

"Oh yes you do Jane" said Maura as she tried and failed to tickle Jane. "Hey no fair. Your arms are a lot longer than mine."

"Did I say something wrong?" asked Alex.

"No." said Jane as she continued to wrestle with Maura. "Good choice and yes, we do have it."

"Alright. Tell me where it is and how to turn everything on and I'll do it."

Alex got everything turned on and loaded in under the explicit instruction of Jane. The movie was just beginning when Angela appeared in the living room.

"What are you watching?" she asked.

"Salt with Angelina Jolie." said Alex.

"Oh. Did Janie choose that one?" Angela asked with a chuckle.

"No. I did not." Jane said as she paused the movie.

"I've seen it before. I think I'll just head home." Angela said with a yawn.

Alex crossed over to her and gave her a hug. "Thank you so much for a delicious dinner, Mrs..."

"Oh no. That's Angela to you and you are very welcome, Alex." Angela said as she patted Alex's cheek. "Go sit down and enjoy your evening. Take care of Olivia, would you. Someone needs to." Angela gave her a wink then grabbed her coat and headed across the patio to her house.

"Scoot forward." Alex said to Olivia.

Olivia slid forward and Alex scooted in behind her. Olivia leaned back and felt Alex snake her arms around her and caress her belly.

"I could get used to this." Olivia said over her shoulder to Alex.

"So could I." said Alex and she kissed Olivia on the temple.

"If you two are finished playing kissy-face." said Jane, "I'll start the movie."

"Oh stop, Jane." said Maura. "They haven't seen each other for almost two years."

Olivia blushed and said, "Sorry Jane. Start the movie."

Alex squeezed her tighter and Olivia laid her head back on Alex's shoulder then grabbed the afghan from the back of the couch and covered them both.

They all relaxed and enjoyed the movie and when it was over, Jane said, "Good choice Alex."

"Yeah. I forgot how good it was. Did you enjoy it, Liv?"

No answer.

"Liv?" Alex asked.

Maura got up and came over to check on their friend. "She's asleep." Maura said.

"I thought she felt heavier a while ago." said Alex. "She stopped tensing and relaxed. She must be wiped out. She loves action movies or at least she did."

"She still does." Jane assured Alex.

"She's just had a really rough day. I'm actually surprised she didn't fall asleep before this." said Maura.

"I hate to wake her but I should be going home." said Alex.

"You don't have to go." said Jane. "You are more than welcome to stay here with Liv."

Alex blushed. "Well, I'm not sure she's ready for me to spend the night with her. I hurt her pretty badly when I left."

"She knows you didn't have a choice in that, Alexandra." said Maura.

"I know but..." Alex started but Olivia chose that moment to turn on her side and snuggle in closer to Alex.

"I guess she just gave you her answer." said Jane with a chuckle. "You wake sleeping beauty and we'll show you up to your room."

"I don't have anything to sleep in." said Alex lamely.

"Jane has pre-pregnancy clothes that will fit you, Alexandra." said Maura. "We'll dig them out. Will a t-shirt and sweats work?"

"Um, yes. Thanks. They will be fine." Alex said and she started to wake Olivia.

"Liv. Liv, honey. I need you to wake up." Alex said gently as she brushed a few stray locks of hair out of Olivia's face. "Come on, sweetheart. Let's go up to bed."

"Stay with me." Olivia mumbled as she grabbed the front of Alex's sweater and held on.

"She's staying Liv. Come on. Let's go upstairs." Jane said.

"Alright." Olivia said with a yawn as she struggled to sit up. "Oooh. My side hurts."

"Let me help you, Liv." Alex said as she slipped out from behind her girlfriend and pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks sweetie." Olivia said as she wrapped her arms around Alex's neck and laid her head on her chest. "I can't seem to stay awake. Sorry Alex."

" That's quite alright Liv. Come on sleeping beauty. Let's get you into bed."

Jane and Maura led the way and Alex followed, practically dragging an exhausted Olivia behind her.

"Good night Liv, Alex." Jane said as she pointed to their room. "If you need anything, Maur and I are right across the hall."

"Thanks for everything and I mean everything." Alex said. "Good night."

"Night night guys." said Olivia. "Love you."

"We love you too, Olivia. Good night." said Maura.


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: Yes...yes...yes...finally an update. Many thanks to all of you who have kicked me in the $$ to get an update posted. Thank you one and all. Xx**_

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Chapter 11

Olivia awoke confused at to where she was, having not remembered going to bed last night, and stiffened when she felt someone in bed behind her with their arm around her and their hand resting gently on the swell of her baby bump. She swiftly slid out of bed and whirled around to see who it was that was sleeping with her. Bad move. Before Olivia could properly see who it was in the dimness of the room, she was hit with a wave of nausea and clamped her hand over her mouth and raced into the bathroom just in time to heave into the toilet. She heaved several more times then moaned in pain as her right side began throbbing.

Hearing the noise coming from the bathroom and feeling a lack of Olivia in the bed beside her, Alex struggled to wake up and quickly slid out of bed to check on her girlfriend.

"Liv?" Alex said sleepily as she stumbled into the bathroom, squinting her eyes in the brightness of the lights. "What's wrong?"

Olivia gasped in surprise, "Alex? Wha...". She got no more out due to another wave of nausea hitting her and retched into the toilet once more.

"Oh god, Liv." Alex said as she crossed the room and sat down on the side of the tub and began rubbing Olivia's back. "What can I do to help you?"

Olivia spit a few more times, flushed the toilet, then shut the lid and laid her head on her arm as she willed her stomach to settle down.

Alex kept rubbing Olivia's back, noticing that her shirt was damp with perspiration and that Olivia's body was trembling. She slid onto the floor beside her and pulled Olivia into her lap as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Did you stay with me all night?" Olivia asked as she laid her head on Alex's familiar shoulder.

"Yes I did." said Alex as she placed a kiss on Olivia's sweaty brow.

"I don't remember us going to bed. What happened?"

Alex chuckled and pulled Olivia tighter to her. "Well, you, Maura, Jane, and I were watching a movie and you kind of passed out on me."

"I passed out?"

"No sweetie. Passed out as in fell asleep."

Embarrassed, Olivia said "Oh."

"I guess I could have chosen a better word, given what you are going through. Are you feeling better? Do you want to get up or stay near the toilet a bit longer?"

"Ummm...I think stay here a bit longer." Olivia said as her stomach flopped again and she swallowed down the bile that was rising in her throat. "So. How did you end up staying?"

"Was it a problem that I did stay?" asked Alex.

"Oh no. Not at all." said Olivia as she snuggled in closer. "It's just that this is Jane and Maura's house and I'm a guest and I had a guest spend the night."

Alex laughed softly and said, "I can see what you mean." She inhaled deeply then continued, "I was going to leave and Jane told me I could stay but I wasn't sure how you would feel about it, you know after how things had to be, and you chose that precise moment to turn into my chest and let out a contented sigh."

"Good timing on my part, I guess." said Olivia with a small chuckle.

"That's what we all thought then when I finally got you to your feet, you grabbed the front of my sweater and begged me not to go and here we are." Alex finished as she placed a kiss on Olivia's head.

Olivia went to speak when the nausea got the best of her and she noisily flipped the lid on the toilet up and vomited again. "Sorry." she whispered.

Alex was up on her knees and again rubbing Olivia's back when a knock on the bedroom door was heard, followed by Jane's voice saying, "I know Alex is with her but I heard a loud crash."

"We're in here, Jane." Alex called as she heard the door open.

Jane and Maura both appeared in the doorway and saw Olivia hunched over the toilet with Alex on the floor beside her.

"What seems to be the matter?" Maura asked in a professional voice.

"Liv isn't feeling very well this morning." Alex said as she continued to rub her back.

"Are you in pain, Olivia?" asked Maura as she tried to maneuver her pregnant bulk past Jane's pregnant bulk and into the bathroom to check on her friend.

"What's up, Liv?" asked Jane.

Olivia raised up from her kneeling position then leaned back into Alex as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"I woke up and was confused as to where I was and to who was in bed with me. I guess I got up too quickly and my side started to hurt and I've been nauseated ever since. I think I just need to lie down for a bit then I'll be alright."

"You aren't running a fever, are you?" Maura asked as she walked over and began feeling Olivia's forehead and cheeks with her skilled hands.

"I don't think so." said Olivia as she looked to Alex for help.

Alex spoke up, "She is really sweaty but I figured it was from her vomiting. She was shivering too but her shirt was damp so, I'm not sure either."

"Let's get you up, into some dry clothes then back into bed, and I'll give you a proper assessment." Maura said then looked to Jane and added, "Could you, please, get my bag from in my closet. It has my stethoscope, thermometer, and all my other equipment in it."

"Yeah. Sure, Maur." said Jane as she looked at her friend, concern etched on her face. "How are you feeling now, Liv?"

Alex had just helped Olivia to standing and she was testing out her legs to be sure they would hold her trembling body and said, "I think I'll be alright. I need to brush my teeth, though." She added a small smile to try and ease the lines of worry on Jane's face.

"You don't look alright." said Jane.

"Please, sweetie, my bag." Maura said to her wife who still hadn't moved from the doorway.

Olivia nodded at Jane as a cue that it was alright for her to leave and Jane nodded in return and walked out the door.

"Where's your toothbrush and toothpaste?" Maura asked. "I'll get them ready for you while Alex gets you some dry clothes. You are drenched in sweat."

"My stuff is in the drawer to the right of the sink and my clothes are in the tall dresser." Olivia said as she leaned onto the bathroom vanity, trying to stop shaking.

After Alex left the bathroom and she heard drawers opening and closing, Maura said in hushed tones "Do you need to go back to the hospital? It's obvious you are in a great deal of pain and are probably now on the verge of dehydration."

"Thanks but I think I'd rather wait and see how I feel in an hour or so then decide." Olivia said in equally hushed tones.

"Alright. If you're sure." Maura said as she handed Olivia her toothbrush and got her a glass of water.

"I am and thanks." Olivia said as she began to brush her teeth.

Maura waited for Olivia to finish then walked her over to the bed where Alex was waiting with dry clothes and a warm washcloth to wipe the gritty sweat from her.

"I feel so stupid right now." said Olivia as she sat down on the side of the bed.

"Why sweetie?" asked Alex.

"Oh. You know. I'm visiting my friends and have been sick most of the time I've been here and I've just found you again and the first thing you have to do is take care of me. I hate feeling like this. So...helpless."

"Olivia." Maura said. "We are more than happy to have you here. You haven't been ill the entire time. At least we found out why."

Olivia smiled and reached over and squeezed Maura's hand.

Just then, Jane burst back into the room. "Do you know how many shoe boxes I had to move to find this?" she said as she held up the bag.

Maura giggled and took the bag from Jane as she planted a kiss on her cheek. "No but I'm sure you're going to tell me exactly how many sometime in the near future."

Jane opened her mouth to tell her exactly how many but Maura grabbed her arm and ushered her out of the room, saying "Let's allow Olivia time to get dry clothes on then you can tell us all how many boxes you had to move."

"Deal but it was a lot and with this", she pointed to her protruding abdomen, "it was extra difficult.

Maura closed the door and hushed Jane by pinning her against the opposite wall and kissing her deeply.

"Better?" she asked her wife with a grin.

"Much." said Jane, licking her lips and grinning back.

"Good. Let's give them a few minutes before I go back and see how well Olivia is not doing."

"Do you think she's worse than she's saying?"

"I think she is much worse than she is saying."

Back inside Olivia's bedroom, Alex gently removed Olivia's shirt and was wiping her with the warm washcloth.

"Are you cold?" she asked as she saw the goose-flesh rising on Olivia's arms and back.

"A bit but..." Olivia blushed.

"But what?" Alex asked.

"But I'm getting a bit aroused too." she said as she dropped her head, flush visible on her upper back and neck.

"Oh. I see." said Alex.

"Yeah." Olivia said as she breathed out a sigh. "I feel like crap, in pain plus nauseated, and...and...I'm horny?"

"Liv." said Alex. "I'm sure it's the pregnancy hormones."

"Yeah. It can happen but having you here and me being half naked, I don't know."

"Why don't we get you cleaned, dry, dressed, and laid back down then once you are feeling better, we can discuss other things." Alex smiled at her.

"Okay. I'm sure Maura is waiting to do her doctor thing on me anyhow." said Olivia as she raised her arms and allowed Alex to put a dry sweatshirt on her.

Alex stopped pulling the shirt down and took a good look at Olivia's belly.

"What?" Olivia asked as she saw where Alex's eyes had traveled to.

"You really are pregnant." Alex stated matter-of-factly then leaned down and kissed Olivia's bump before pulling the shirt the rest of the way down.

"I really am." said Olivia as she caressed her abdomen with one hand and pulled Alex in for a kiss with the other.

Olivia, pregnancy hormones raging, wrapped her other arm around Alex and deepened the kiss while trying to ignore the pain and again rising nausea.

"Liv." Alex said as she broke the kiss and extracted herself from Olivia's grasp. "We need to stay on task. Are you alright?"

Olivia had suddenly paled.

"No." she whispered. "I need to throw up again."

Alex swiftly helped her from the bed and into the bathroom where she dry-heaved a few times.

"I hope that wasn't a result of kissing me." Alex said, trying to break the tension.

Olivia laughed. "I highly doubt it was you. It's my stupid gallbladder."

"Ready to finish getting cleaned up?"

Olivia nodded then said, "Get the bottle of mouthwash from the drawer, please. I need to rinse."

They finally got Olivia cleaned and into dry clothes so Maura could begin her assessment.

Maura was very thorough and saved palpating Olivia's upper right quadrant for last, knowing it would cause a lot of pain.

"Are you ready for this?" Maura asked as her skilled and expert hands traveled closer to the area of Olivia's body where the diseased gallbladder was.

Olivia, who had been growing paler as the assessment went on, reached for Alex's hand then for Jane's before nodding that she was.

Maura palpated and Olivia hissed in pain and bit down on her bottom lip to keep from crying out.

"It is very inflamed, Olivia. I am hardly pressing at all. Are you sure you want to wait until the baby is born to have it removed?" Maura asked.

Olivia bit her bottom lip as tears welled in her eyes then spilled over and ran down her cheeks. "I don't know if I can wait." she whispered then let out a sob. "It hurts so much."

"Oh Liv." Alex said as she sat down and and brushed the tears away. "If you feel you need it removed, lets get it done sooner as opposed to later. All this pain can't be good for you or the baby."

"Yeah Liv." Jane said. "Get it done soon and you can stay here and recover. We'll take good care of you."

Maura nodded her agreement then added, "They can have you under, your gallbladder removed and reverse the anesthesia quickly so the baby will have minimal exposure. Alexandra is right. You suffering with this much pain is not good for either one of you. It not only stresses you but it stresses the baby as well."

With Alex's help, Olivia maneuvered herself into a sitting position and took some deep breaths before speaking.

"As much as I dislike the idea of surgery, I want a healthy baby and I think I need to have it removed as soon as possible. I'm not sure how much more pain I can stand."

"So..." Jane began, "you weren't being truthful with us when you said you weren't having pain?"

Olivia blushed, looked down at her lap, and shook her head as she quietly said "No."

"Why Liv? Why didn't you let us know? We wouldn't have dragged you all over the Commons yesterday." Jane said as she sat down and grasped her friend's hand.

"I didn't want to ruin your vacation with having to take care of me. Besides, if we hadn't gone to the Commons, I wouldn't have Alex back in my life." Olivia said as she looked at her girlfriend and smiled.

"Yeah. That did work out well for the both of you." Jane said.

"Not to change the subject but when do you want to head back to the hospital? The sooner we get you there, the sooner it can be all over and you can begin your recovery. I know you haven't gained the proper amount of weight thus far in your pregnancy and you need to be able to take in sufficient calories to sustain not only yourself but the demands of a growing fetus as well." Maura said as she also sat down on the bed.

"Alex can you hand me my phone, please? I need to call Cragen and let him know what's going on. How long do you think I will need to be off?" Olivia looked at Maura.

"Well..." she pondered, "usually only a couple weeks but given your condition and what you do for a living, I'm going to guess about six to eight weeks. Do you have enough time banked for that and still have time for your maternity leave?"

Alex laughed. "Liv rarely misses a day of work. I'll bet she has enough time banked to cover her surgery and all of your maternity leaves."

Olivia blushed and slapped Alex playfully on the arm.

"Hey." Alex said.

"As much as I hate to admit it. Yes, I do have that much time banked." Olivia said as she opened her phone and speed-dialed her captain.

"Cragen." said the familiar voice on the other end of the phone.

"Cap, It's Olivia. How are you?"

"Olivia!" he exclaimed. "How are you sweetie? Are you having a good vacation?"

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm, um, having some gallbladder troubles and the doctor recommends that it be taken out as soon as possible."

"Oh god, Liv. I wasn't aware you were having problems."

"Neither was I. I thought all the nausea and vomiting was because of something else, not my gallbladder."

Cragen missed what she had said, too worried about his best detective needing surgery. "Do you need some help? Some place to stay while you recover? You are always welcome at my house."

"Thanks Don but I'm actually not in New York."

"You aren't? Where are you? Do you need me to come and get you?"

"I'm in Boston, staying with friends. You remember Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles-Rizzoli, don't you? I'm at their place."

"Oh yes. I remember them. The detective and the medical examiner. Sure. Wasn't the detective the one you took a bullet for a few years ago?"

"Yes to all of that." Olivia said then thought _When will everyone forget about that shooting?_

"How much time do you think you'll need? You have tons of hours banked."

"I was talking to Maura and she feels I will need to be off about six to eight weeks. I hope that won't be a problem."

"No problem at all. You just get yourself well. Do they have a fax machine? I'll get the papers in order and fax them to you and you can sign them and fax them back then send the original signed ones to me."

"Thanks Don. I owe you." she said then gave him the fax number to Maura's home office.

"Don't mention it, Liv. You just get yourself taken care of and well again. If you need anything or want to come home, don't hesitate to call and I'll be right up to get you, alright?"

"Alright. Hey Don?"

"What's up Liv?"

"I love you."

"Well, I love you too." said Cragen through a suddenly thick voice.

"Tell the guys what's up, will you."

"Sure sweetie. You take care."

"I will."

Olivia hung up her phone and said, "As soon as I get and sign that fax, let's go."

Jane and Maura left the room and headed downstairs to retrieve the fax, giving Olivia and Alex time to get her things ready to go to the hospital.

"Hey Liv." Alex said.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell Cragen about me being here too?"

"Because I'm still not sure that you are really here. I keep expecting you to disappear when I blink my eyes. Besides, there are still a lot of unanswered questions I have for you that I'm sure he will have as well."

"Oh." Alex said then crossed over to Olivia and gently enveloped her in an embrace. "For the record, I am here and I'm not planning on going anywhere unless you order me to."

"Don't count on that happening any time soon, Cabot." Olivia said as she returned the hug then winced at the pain in her side. "I've finally got you back and I don't plan on ever letting you go."

"Good." Alex said as she smiled broadly. "Let's get you packed so we can get on with our lives."

"Deal." Olivia said as she threw her NYPD sweats into the bag. "Let's go."


End file.
